


What the Fork?

by GinevraMolly89



Category: Mötley Crüe, The Dirt (2019), The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band Book - Mötley Crüe & Neil Strauss
Genre: Accidental Time Travel, Alcohol, F/M, Gen, Out of Character, Rating May Change, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Burn, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:09:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23058265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinevraMolly89/pseuds/GinevraMolly89
Summary: Eva Rozlyn "Roz" Roberts accidentally time travels when she fiddles with her time turner while watching The Dirt. She ends up in 1981 in the Mötley apartment. How will the Crüe react? Will she ever be able to get back to 2020? Will Roz be able to handle their way of life?
Relationships: Nikki Sixx/Original Female Character(s), Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am now on Instagram @ginny_baker.sixx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *6/7/20* I made some minor grammatical corrections.

Eva Rozlyn Roberts, aka Roz, was sick of waiting for her friend to pick her up. She was supposed to be going to her first ever convention. Dressed as a Gryffindor witch, she started twirling her Newt Scamander replica wand over and over again. *Why on Earth am I still waiting for her?* Roz wondered. Roz put her wand up her sleeve, and she tried calling her friend for what felt like the 100th time that morning. 

After the voicemail picked up again Roz decided to start watching The Dirt again. She had lost track of the times she had watched the movie and listened to the songs since the movie came out. As she watched the movie, she took out a time turner necklace and started twirling it in all of the different directions. *I wish I had never agreed to go with Katy. She always forgets about me or bails.*

About an hour into the movie Roz had already braided her black hair so that it hung over her left shoulder. Her hair was not just black it had deep red highlights all throughout. When she started twirling her time turner necklace again, a faint blue tendril of light started twisting around her fingers and slowly working its way up. Before she even noticed it, the light was covering her forearms. She immediately stopped playing with the time turner and started to panic. *Time turners are NOT even real! I cannot deal with this. I just turned 19 and I have to move soon. Fuck! What’s gonna happen to Hope?* The blue light had engulfed her and no matter how hard she tried; she couldn't get the time turner out of her hands. The last thought she had before she blacked out was *I hope she’s safe and that I’m at least gonna go somewhere fun.....*

*******************

The guys had just finished agreeing on a name. Mötley Crüe was finally a reality. They kept drinking together and didn't pay any attention to the strange blue light emanating from under the table. After a few hours Tommy exclaimed, "Dudes, the only thing that could make this better would be for a chick to be here!"

After a pull from his beer Vince laughed and asked, "Where exactly do you expect a chick to come from?" 

Mick growled sarcastically, "In a ball of light ya dumbass."

Tommy's eyes lit up with teenage enthusiasm. "Ya really think so Mick?"

Nikki just laughed and said, "He was joking dork."

By then the light had waned and then, all of a sudden, it flashed back out from under the table. It engulfed the Crüe and Vince screamed. Once the light was gone Mick was shocked. "Seriously, I was joking about the light. What the fuck's going on under the table?"

Tommy ducked his head under the table and immediately popped his head back up. "Dudes, I can't believe it. I think I drank too much! There's a fuckin chick under the table!"

Nikki cackled "T-bone quit fuckin around! Is there even anything other than trash under there?"

Tommy glared and pouted "I'm not joking. Just look for yourself dude!"

Mick grunted in pain as he got down on the floor and saw the strangest thing. There was girl maybe in her older teens. Her sudden appearance wasn't the only strange thing. She had unnatural black and red hair braided. She was also in what looked to be a school uniform. She had a red plaid skirt, knee high socks, odd combat like boots, a black blouse, a dark grey cardigan with a lion crest on it, and oddest of all a cloak. Mick decided that they needed to at least get her out from under the table. Maybe wake her if possible. "Nikki stop your cackling and help me move her to the couch."

"Fine, fine" Nikki said as he rolled his eyes.

Tommy and Vince moved the table and Mick carefully lifted her head with a grimace while Nikki got her legs. Once they got her on the couch Vince decided to bail to his girlfriend’s place, "Sorry, but I'm not sober enough for this shit. I'll be back later."

Tommy leaned over the girl and asked, "Where do you guys think she came from?"

Nikki shrugged, "Fuck if I know. Wake her up and see."

Tommy started to poke her in the cheek. She mumbled "...5 mur min mum..." Tommy giggled and then decided to poke her sharply in the side. The girl's emerald eyes flew open as she shot into a sitting position. She screamed and flailed her arms which resulted in smacking Tommy in the face. "What the fork? Son of a bitch! What kind of asshole jabs someone they don't know in the side? Seriously, what the fuck?!"

The guys looked at her with wide eyes and then to each other. "Well Mick you're the one who said a chick would come from a ball of light. What do you think we should do with her?" Nikki asked.

Mick chuckled "Your apartment, you guys figure it out. I'm gonna just drink more."

Sitting up fully and looking around the room, the girl snapped, "She's right here and she even has a name! She also wants to know who you guys are and where she is."

Tommy sat next to her on the couch and started, "Well I'm Tommy, that's Nikki and that's Mick. You are in our apartment."

"Well theirs" Mick said pointing between Tommy and Nikki with his bottle of Jack.

"Now you" Nikki said pointedly.

Looking down at the floor Roz said, "I'm Roz, that's all you're going to get from me right now. I want to know what city I'm in and what year it is. I've learned from books, TV, and movies that fresh out of a ball of light you figure out where and when you are." Roz nervously tucked her legs under herself and hugged her knees.

Tommy's brow knitted and he said, "Um its 1981 and you're in Los Angeles. Uh I guess that means I should ask you; where and when are you from Roz?"

She looked with wide eyes between Mick and Nikki before settling back on Tommy. "Please don't freak out," she said quietly. As she looked down at her purple boots, she mumbled, "I'm from Madison, WI, and I was in the year 2020. I was born July 1, 2001 so I turned 19 a week ago in my time.”

Nikki snorted, and Tommy elbowed him before he said, “Seriously dude?? You’re from the future AND from WI?? How the fuck did you get here? Also, why under the table?”

“I have no clue Tommy, I was just messing around with my necklace and then POOF………” Roz trailed off and then stared wide-eyed at Mick, Tommy, and then fixed her eyes on Nikki. “Holy fucking shit balls!!!!!! M-Mick Mars? T-Tommy Lee? …. A-a-an-and N-ni-Nikki S-ss-Sixx?” She continued stare at Nikki who, after a bit, narrowed his eyes at her and then turned to Mick and Tommy.

“How the hell does she know who we are?”

Mick shrugged and Tommy laughed and said, “Wait dude, she’s from the future, right? We’re probably famous. Hey Roz is that how you know us?”

“Shit, I shouldn’t have let that bit slip. This better not fuck up the space time continuum. I refuse to tell you guys about your futures.” She said wildly staring at Tommy. 

“Ok… ok… What should we do with her until we figure out if she can even go home?” Tommy asked turning to Nikki. 

“Well we can claim she is related to one of us,” suggested Nikki. “Hey Mick want a sister or a cousin?”

Mick shook his head and chuckled slightly. “If she’s gonna be my cousin I wanna know her whole name. So, lady teen, what’s your name?”

“Seriously Mick? Lady teen? Ugh fine, my name is Eva Rozlyn Roberts. I prefer Roz though.” She looked between the guys and then around the disgusting living room. “So… um…. Where am I going to live? If I recall this place only has the 2 rooms and Vince and Tommy already share one of them.” *Honestly, I hope they say I have to share with Vince and Tommy. Sharing with Nikki would be nerve wracking.*

“Seriously dude, it’s creepy how much you know about us. You can share the room with me and Vince. I know Nikki ain’t gonna wanna share.” Tommy looked like a hopeful puppy.

“I guess that works. I’m gonna need something other than my costume to wear guys. I can’t always walk around LA dressed as a character from Harry Potter.”

“Wait who’s this Harry guy?” Nikki asked frowning.

Roz giggled, “He’s the main character from a series of books that started in the late 90’s. He is a wizard and goes to a magical boarding school. It’s my favorite series of books ever. Right now, I’m wearing the Gryffindor version of the Hogwarts uniform. I also have a time turner and a replica of Newt Scamander’s wand.”

Mick rolled his eyes, “ So let me get this straight. You just decided to dress like a wizarding school girl and then play with magical objects?”

Roz’s face clouded over, “Well I was supposed to be going to a convention with my friend Katy. Bitch never actually picked me up. I was fiddling around with the time turner necklace while watching a movie. Then I was in a blue light and passed out. Seriously, magic isn’t real. At least it wasn’t until the time turner decided to spaz out and actually work.”

Nikki smirked and asked, “Are you sure you’re not a witch? You’re already a time traveler. Why not be a witch too?”

“Bro do you really think she’s a witch? That would be so cool!!!” Tommy turned to Roz and asked, “Do you think that your wand will work too?”

Roz giggled, “That would be amazing. But damn is it getting late or what? Any chance we can go back over this after some sleep ?”

“Well Tommy show her to Vince’s bed. I think it would be hilarious if Vin came back while she was sleeping in his bed.” Nikki says lighting up a cigarette.

Tommy turned to Roz, “I should have some sweatpants and a shirt for you”

“Tommy I hope you’ve got some workout shorts because your legs are way to long,” Roz said as she followed Tommy. Tommy handed her some shorts and a t-shirt and pointed out Vince’s bed. “Thanks Tommy.”

After Tommy left the room Roz shut the door and changed. She folded her clothes and stuffed them in the pillowcase, and she still wore the time turner and kept the wand in its sheath on her forearm. She laid down and her last thought before sleep claimed her was of how strange this all is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first thing that I have written in a very long time. I do not have a beta yet so constructive criticism is welcome. Ideas are also nice lol. I do not have anything else written at this point in time. Don’t worry I do plan to continue writing this fic. Right now, I don’t know who Roz will end up with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo I'm baaaaack! By the way folks, like Roz, I'm a little weird lol.
> 
> PS I've edited the chapter. Thanks WestHamBabe for pointing something out in this chapter. it helped me realise a mistake I made.
> 
> ***PPS 6/7/20 I did some minor grammatical corrections.***

Roz woke slowly. *Gaahh that is such a gross smell. And why on Earth is there someone in my bed?* Roz cracked an eye open and peeked around the room. *WHAT THE FORK???* She started to silently freak the fuck out. *Not good. Not good. Not good at all. Wait, seriously who the fuck is in bed with me??* Roz was done being silent. Now was the time for ear splitting screams. Roz also lashed out at the stranger elbowing him in the stomach and kicking him a few times in the shins and for good measure she also kicked him twice in the balls. 

Tommy sleepily stumbled out of his bed. “Roz?! Roz are you ok?!” Tommy saw Vince on the floor groaning and clutching his crotch. “Vinnie, dude, did you seriously get into bed with Roz after getting home? Are you ok Roz? Did he hurt you or anything?”

“Seriously T-bone? I’m over here in major pain and you think I did something to her?”

Listening to Tommy and Vince, Roz became more alert and remembered where she was. “Mornin’ Tommy. Hey Vince, if I catch you cuddling me in my sleep again without my permission, I WILL hurt you. I will shove my wand up your nose and scramble your brain.”

Nikki stood in the doorway laughing, “Well Vince, I think this is the first time I’ve even seen you kicked out of bed by a chick. I thought you’d have freaked out a little less Roz. You know being the time traveling witch that you are.”

Roz stood up and glared at him, “Shut up Nikki! You had me go into his bed and didn’t warn him I was there to… what? Mess with me?! Were you hoping that he’d do something to me in my sleep?”

Nikki rolled his eyes, “I knew he wouldn’t, and it was a fucking joke.”

“Not a very good one if you ask me,” said Roz crossing her arms. “Ugh whatever.”

Vince looked between Roz and Nikki. “Is anyone gonna fill me in on future babe?”

“Watch it buddy. I’ve got my eye on you,” Roz stuck her tongue out at Vince. “Shouldn’t we wait for Mick in case he thought of anything else he wants to know? The less I gotta repeat myself the better.” 

Tommy looked at the alarm clock, “Well it’s almost 11:30 so he should be here soon for practice. What do you want to do until then?”

*I wonder why I’m even here. What do I want to do anyways? I can’t always just sit here on my ass with the guys. It’s too bad that to get a job or anything I would need a fake ID or something. I know, I could be their babysitter and maid.* Roz snickered to herself at the thought.

“Earth to Roz….1981 to Roz are you there?” Tommy said poking her on her right shoulder right where she had a giant bruise.

Roz tried to keep from wincing. “Um sorry I guess I spaced out there. I guess we should come up with some sleeping arrangements because I don’t want to wake up to unexpected people in the same bed as me. No offence Vince. Also, I’m sorry for kicking your ass outta bed. So, who wants to share a bed with a witch?”

The guys looked between each other. Just as Vince was about to try saying something Nikki elbowed him. “Unless we can get another mattress, you should get your own bed. These two goons can either share or fight each other for who gets the couch.”

“Nik seriously? Fine I’ll just try to be at my girlfriend’s more often. I don’t want to risk my brain getting scrambled.” Vince shrugged and walked out to the living room.

Roz was starting to feel the need time to herself. “Hey Tommy, do you have another shirt that I can wear? I don’t feel like being in these shorts all day.”

“Sure thing Roz,” Tommy said tossing her a shirt as he walked out of the room.

Nikki just stood there with his arms crossed analyzing Roz. Starting to feel a little hot under the collar, she said, “Um Nikki, I don’t exactly want an audience while I change.”

With a wink and a smirk Nikki left the room. Roz shut the door behind him. Roz started to think as she got her skirt and started to change. *Ok seriously Nikki was being a little weird just now. He didn’t act this nice last night at all. Maybe he’s just trying to get me rattled.* When she took the shirt off she saw that her whole right shoulder was bruised. *Geez did I fall or something when I blacked out?* Roz did her hair in a messy bun and tied the oversized t-shirt at the waist. Knowing how gross the carpet is, she decided to put her boots on. Once she was satisfied with her clothes, she walked out to the living room to find that Mick had arrived.

“Hey cuz,” she said as she skipped in and plopped onto the couch between Mick and Tommy.

“So teen witch, I hear you kicked Vince out of bed. Good job kid.” Mick said with a small smile.

Roz laughed, “If he tries anything while I’m asleep I’ll treat him like he’s an Egyptian being prepared for burial”

Vince looked at her like she had 2 heads, “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that I would shove a white-hot poker up your nose and scramble your brain before I pull it out through your nose.” Roz was having a hard time not laughing at the look on Vince’s face. “Weeeeellllll I would actually be more likely to punch or kick someone I’m not expecting to be in my bed.”

“So, Roz, what did happen before you appeared?” Tommy asked turning on the couch to look at her.

“Well I was supposed to go to a Harry Potter convention where a bunch of fans get together. That’s why I was dressed the way that I was. My friend Katy was supposed to pick me up but she didn’t show up so I started to watch a movie. I was fiddling around with my time turner necklace and then a blue light started creeping up my arms. I couldn’t drop the necklace. Around the time that it was reaching my head I blacked out. I must have fallen because I have a giant bruise on my right shoulder. Next thing I know I’m under your table.”

“What movie were you watching?” Nikki asked.

Roz crinkled her nose, “Why do you care what movie I was watching?”

Nikki scoffed, “Of course I want to know because it might explain why you ended up here of all places.”

Roz thought *I can’t tell them too much about it. I can’t cause some sort of time paradox or change the future. He probably won’t believe whatever I say anyways* She took a steadying breath and said, “It was a movie with a killer rabbit, French people throwing cows, horny nuns in a convent, and empty halves of coconuts. I was trying to do some research into the classic problem of what is the air speed velocity of an unladden swallow?”

Nikki snorted, “Well that’s bull shit. You were probably watching something lame and embarrassing.”

Roz snorted and shook her head, “Of course you just keep on thinking that Nikki. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is just pure awesome, not crazy. Oh and, Vince, my full name is Eva Rozlyn Roberts. I prefer Roz. Also, Nikki decided that I am Mick’s cousin. Any questions anyone?”

“Well Roz we might need more of a back story than that. We gotta have a good reason why Mick’s adult cousin moved from WI. And probably a good reason why you stay here and not with him.” Vince said.

Roz thought for a moment then said, “Well as to the moving states, I guess we could say I’m parentless and that Mick’s the only family member I have. As to why I’m here and not with him would be his girlfriend doesn’t like me.”

“What will you do during the day?” asked Tommy.

“I guess I’ll help you guys with stuff around here. Maybe I’ll try to get the wand to work. Magic would come in handy cleaning this place up.” Roz looked around. She saw trash, broken shit, and burnt cockroaches everywhere.

Nikki watched Roz as she looked around. He thought that she might be a little too tame. With a wicked glint in his eye he asked, “What about when we party? Are you gonna be joining in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote most of this on a tiny keyboard at work with my phone as the screen. For some reason it is always changing shit in my sentences and adding characters in. I had to fix it at home. I love my mechanical keyboard, but I must be able to write when it comes to me.
> 
> What are your thoughts so far? What do you think will be Roz's response to Nikki?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ... yeah ... I am having a lot of issues with my ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Trying to come up with the inspiration to write is like trying to get blood from a rock.
> 
> *2/16/21 I made some minor grammatical corrections*

*Last Time*

“I guess I’ll help you guys with stuff around here. Maybe I’ll try to get the wand to work. Magic would come in handy cleaning this place up.” Roz looked around. She saw trash, broken shit, and burnt cockroaches everywhere.

Nikki watched Roz as she looked around. He thought that she might be a little too tame. With a wicked glint in his eye he asked, “What about when we party? Are you gonna be joining in?”

Roz wasn’t sure how to answer Nikki. She could hold her liquor and has gotten pretty damned drunk quite a few times. All of those times were with her mom though, and she had no idea how to party like the guys. She wasn’t even sure that she wanted to know how. She sighed as she responded, “Well I’ll join in and drink some and have fun, but nothing other than alcohol for me. I like to have fun without drugs.”

Vince scoffed, “How can you have fun without drugs? I didn’t even think that was possible.”

Roz looked down, trying to blink away the beginnings of tears, as she picked at the edge of her skirt. She sounded sad as she said, “The subject of drugs is a really sensitive issue for me. I had to help raise my baby cousin because her mom overdosed with her in the house and then less than a year later, her dad died in a drunk driving accident.”

Tommy gave Roz a one-armed hug, “That sucks Roz. How old was your cousin when she came to live with you?”

Roz smiled as she thought of her baby cousin, “Hope was just a year and a half old and I was 10. She’s the only thing that I left behind in 2020 that I’ll actually miss.” Roz snickered when she thought of how Hope, after seeing her poster of The Dirt, wanted to have her hair done like Tommy’s pretty and wavy brown hair. Hope had platinum blonde hair that you refused to dye. This meant that when you tried to at least do his hair style, she came out with hair that looked more like Vince’s. Roz looked between Tommy and Vince and burst into uncontrollable, hysterical laughter.

Nikki raised an eyebrow at her as she clung to Tommy’s shoulder and doubled over cackling. “What on Earth? Are you sure you don’t do drugs?,” Nikki questioned Roz.

Roz was laughing so hard by then that she was practically wheezing. All that could be heard of her answer was “HAHA… Hope’s hair … hehe … Tommy … hahee … was Vince’s!” At this point she fell to the floor with tears pouring down her face.

Mick looked amused and said, “Lady teen is cracked in the head.”

The boys started to talk about the song that they were going to practice first. Once they had decided, Tommy realized that he couldn’t hear Roz laughing anymore. He looked down to see that Roz had curled up on her side and was crying silently. Tommy was worried and crouched down on the floor by her. “Rozzy? Are you ok sweetie?” he asked softly. When Tommy laid his hand on her shoulder, she broke down sobbing loudly and hyperventilating. “Guys, Roz is not ok. What should we do?”

Nikki scrunched his nose and cocked his head to the side as he studied her for a moment. “Here Tommy let me.” He crouched down and picked Roz up bridal style. “Hey Roz, babe, can you hear me?” When she heard Nikki call her babe, she turned her face to look at him but didn’t reply. “Do you want one of us to sit with you? Or do you want to just sit on the couch while we practice?”

Roz looked away and took a deep breath before she said one word, “Couch.”

After Nikki sat her down on the couch, Tommy came up to her. He brushed the tears from her face and whispered, “Rozzy you can talk to us when you want. Let us know if you need anything though.” She looked into his eyes and nodded. Tommy surprised her then by kissing her forehead before sitting behind his drums.

They started practicing and Roz got lost in her racing thoughts. *How the hell am I going to be able to handle not seeing Hope grow up? I need to find out if the time turner is actually going to work again. I need to know if I’ll ever be able to see her again. Also, what is up with Nikki being sweet again? I thought he hated me. I gotta admit though, being in his arms felt amazing. I don’t even know what to think about Tommy kissing my forehead.* As her thoughts quieted, she started to focus on the music. She realized that the boys were playing “Live Wire”. Roz smiled and when the Crüe started playing “On with the Show”, she started singing along softly. By the end of the song she had closed her eyes. She opened them again when she noticed that they had stopped playing. Roz smiled, “It was great hearing you guys play up close.”

Tommy got up and sat next to her. “Soooo Rozzy, I noticed that you were singing.” He said cheekily as he wrapped his arm around her. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yea I am. Thank you for helping guys.” She said as she snuggled into Tommy’s side.

“Did you want to talk about it?” Tommy asked before he kissed the top of her head.

Roz looked between all the guys and noticed Nikki was frowning while looking at her and Tommy. *What is up with Nikki? He almost looks jealous, but he can’t be … right?* Roz shook herself out of her thoughts, “Sorry Tommy, not right now. To be honest, I’m pretty hungry.”

Tommy beamed, “We could go to the diner and get pancakes!”

Roz laughed, “Let me guess, blueberry?”

Tommy looked at her confusedly, “How do you know that those are my favorite?”

Roz winked at him, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Nikki grumbled and interrupted before Tommy could respond, “Come on, let’s go. You two can flirt later.” With that he walked out the door.

Vince and Mick followed Nikki out of the door. Tommy stood and took Roz’s hand to help her up. She looked up at him and asked, “Is it just me, or is Nikki acting weird?”

Tommy thought for a moment before responding, “He has seemed kind of off since you got here last night. Just ignore it. Let’s go get the pancakes! You still have to tell me how you know about the pancakes.”

Roz stuck her tongue out and said, “No I do not Thomas. Future stuff is very wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey.”

Tommy pouted and Roz followed him out of the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you all think? Feedback would help a lot with the inspiration.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy long chapter Batman! Well enjoy my dears!
> 
> *6/7/20 I made some minor grammatical corrections*

Roz was having trouble keeping up with the guys as they walked to the diner. *Being 5’1” sucks! I’m a foot shorter than Nikki and just over a foot shorter than Tommy. I’m even over half a foot shorter than Mick and Vince. I have got to go faster or I’ll fall behind* After a little bit Roz noticed a diner down at the end of the block. She ran to get closer to Tommy, “Hey T, is that the diner we are headed to?”

“Yea it is. Why do you –“ he cut himself off as Roz literally skipped ahead of him towards the diner. Tommy started laughing, “Where are you off to skipping like that?”

“I’m off to see the wonderful wizard of Oz of course!” Roz giggled and came to a stop just outside the diner. She looked back at the guys and noticed that by skipping she had gotten decently ahead of them. “Let’s go guys! I wanna see if they have grits. I would kill for grits and sausage drenched in syrup.”

Vince gave her a weird look and asked, “What the hell are grits?”

As they entered the diner Roz answered, “They are ground hominy cooked up. Sometimes they are savory and sometimes they are sweet. I prefer them with salt, butter, and sausage or bacon.”

Vince scrunched up his nose, “That sounds gross. How can you eat something like that?”

Roz rolled her eyes, “It’s a southern thing Vinny.”

Tommy looked confused as he sat next to her in the booth. “I thought you said you’re from Wisconsin. Isn’t that in the Midwest?”

“Yea Tommy it is. My grandma Rose is from South Carolina though. My mom was born there too. She was 5 when they moved to Wisconsin. I grew up eating grits for breakfast and my favorite dinner is black-eye peas and rice. I should cook something for you guys! I can make black-eye peas and rice! It’s easy but it takes a long time to cook. I’d need a giant stock pot though. I would need the food too. I have some really old bills in my wallet. If they’re old enough we could use them to buy groceries. I think I’m rambling. Am I rambling? Someone stop me from rambling plea-“ Roz’s eyes widen as Nikki, who sat down on her other side, put his hand over her mouth.

Roz took a couple of deep breaths and then looked at Nikki. She couldn’t really read the look in his eyes. He looked amused but there was something else there. He chuckled and leaned closer with his hand still over her mouth. “Are you done ramblin’ babe?”

Roz got a wicked gleam in her eyes. She stuck her tongue out and licked Nikki’s palm while staring straight into his eyes. Nikki pulled his hand away and laughed. Roz looked at the menu and sadly didn’t see grits on it. When the waitress came to take their order, she ordered coffee and chocolate chip pancakes.

While waiting for their food, Mick spoke up, “So what are black-eye peas?”

Roz looked to Mick and said, “The dish is a really hearty dish. It has black-eye peas which are actually a type of bean. It also has ham in it. It’s kinda like a soup that you dish up over rice. We started out having it a lot because it was cheap to make, but it ended up being my favorite dinner. Same thing went with the grits. They were cheap but filling”

“Sounds good,” Mick responded.

Roz looked to Vince, Tommy, then Nikki. “What do you guys think? I wanna be useful and cooking is relaxing to me and is useful. I don’t wanna be a complete free-loader.”

Vince shrugged, “Eh, I’ll try it.”

Tommy smiled down at Roz and put his arm around her, “I’m willing to try any food at least once”

Nikki looked at Roz and Tommy and grumbled, “What all are you gonna need to make it?”

Roz thought and answered, “I’ll need a giant stock pot, a big wooden spoon, a smaller pot for rice, rice, chicken bouillon, salt, pepper, bay leaves, garlic, onions, ham, and a couple of pounds of dry black-eye peas. It takes too long to make so we wouldn’t be able to have it today.”

Nikki shrugged and dug into his food. “I guess I’m outnumbered. We can go to the store after this.”

When they were done eating, Mick decided to go home, and Vince went to his girlfriend’s. Roz walked between Nikki and Tommy. She got confused when they walked past the apartment building. “Hey guys, I thought we were gonna check my wallet to see when my money is from. I don’t have it with me. It’s wrapped up in the cloak with the wand and the time turner.”

Tommy looked to Nikki and he shook his head. Nikki spoke up, “Don’t worry about it this time Roz. Let’s just get to the store.” Nikki sped up a little and Roz frowned. 

She looked up at Tommy, “Tommy I don’t like this. I feel like I’m using you guys or something.”

Tommy grabbed her hand which made her look up at him quizzically. “Don’t worry about it Rozzy. I think you planning on cooking and cleaning for us means that you aren’t using us.” Roz smiled at him and squeezed his hand before letting go. Neither of them noticed that Nikki had seen them holding hands. Before they let go Nikki had frowned and looked forward again. 

Everything was oddly quiet until they were in the store and they got to the aisle of the store with the pots in it. Roz grabbed a 24-quart stock pot and the lid. Tommy’s eyes went wide when he saw how big the pot was, “Geez Roz how much are you planning on making?”

Roz grabbed a standard pot and put it in the cart with the stock pot. “I only know how to cook for an army.” She said as she shrugged. “Since I’m cooking for 4 young guys, and one of them is still a teenager, lots of food is gonna be a good thing.”

Tommy pouted, “Hey you’re technically still in your teens too.”

Roz laughed and headed to get the rice and beans. In the same aisle she saw grits and her eyes lit up. She called out to Nikki, “Hey Nik can I get the stuff for grits? Pretty please?” 

Instead of answering, Nikki grabbed the biggest container and tossed it in the cart. “Thanks Nikki!” she beamed at him and stood on her tip toes to give Nikki a kiss on the cheek.

Nikki gave her a small smile and said, “Grab whatever else you need for it. You might as well grab other dishes and food stuff. We don’t really have any since we don’t really cook.”

Once they were done with the cooking supplies and dishes again, they grabbed the rest of the ingredients. After they checked out, Roz noticed how much stuff they really had. “Hey Tommy, Nikki? How are we gonna get all of this stuff home?”

Nikki and Tommy chuckled. “Don’t worry Rozzy. Nikki and I can carry most of it. It’s not that long of a walk.”

Roz bit her lip, “Are you guys sure? I feel bad.”

Nikki rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry so much little witch. We’ll be fine.”

Roz pouted and grabbed the last couple of bags before following the guys out of the store. On the way back she thought, *Tommy’s really sweet to me. I wonder why he is acting towards me the way that he is. I don’t know about him but the feeling I get when he hugs me and stuff is like best friend and family.* She looked over to Nikki. *Now Nikki he is a whole new thing altogether. In the future I thought he was always hot. In person he looks even better. He has ranged anywhere from quiet and sweet to loud and rude. If I’m stuck here, it is going to be a long rough road to their sobriety.*

Once they got back to the apartment, Roz decided to tackle the cleaning of the kitchen. She started with the fridge and threw out all of the spoiled and expired food. She wiped down the inside of the fridge and then put the ham and onions in the fridge. Next, she cleared out all of the trash and empty bottles. She made sure there was a clean cabinet and put away the dishes. She cleaned up all of the dirty dishes and put them away. She cleaned off the stove and then set the stock pot on it. She decided to take the trash out and Tommy noticed the four full bags that she had. He got up and offered to help.

Roz smiled and wiped the sweat off her brow. “Thanks T, it would have taken me a few trips to do take these out by myself.”

Tommy laughed, “If this much trash was in there, I don’t know how you ever even found the kitchen. You got done with it pretty quickly too.”

Roz chuckled, “Well finding the actual kitchen was definitely a battle. No kitchen will win against me though. I wish magic was real. It would make cleaning so much easier.”

When they were done Tommy watched Roz as she grabbed a giant bowl, a colander, the stock pot, and the black-eye peas. Tommy scrunched his brow, “What are you doing?”

“I’ve got to rinse off the peas and then pick out the bad ones. Sometimes there are even small stones in there.” Roz explained as she started putting the dry peas in the colander. After rinsing them really well she poured them into the bowl. She grabbed the bowl and the stock pot and sat on the couch with the bowl in her lap and the stock pot on the floor between her feet.

She got started and noticed Nikki staring at her with his notebook in his lap. “What’s up Nikki? Do I have something on my face?”

“No,” Nikki quickly said. He looked back down to his notebook and mumbled something unintelligible.

“Um okay. So, whose bed am I sleeping in tonight?” Roz questioned as she tossed a handful of peas into the stock pot.

Tommy looked at her brightly, “If you don’t feel comfortable in Vinny’s bed, you can join me in mine tonight.”

Nikki glared at Tommy with a dark look in his eyes. Roz didn’t notice Nikki’s face as she picked a few pieces out of her hand. When she was done with that handful she looked up at Tommy. “Alright Tommy, but no funny business Mr. Lee.” She said sternly before breaking into a smile and laughing.

Tommy sat next to her and started helping with the peas. He looked over at her and pouted, “So I can’t practice my stand-up comedy act in bed?”

Roz snorted, shook her head, and smiled. “Oh my god Tommy. Really?”

Tommy smiled and asked, “So Roz where do you think your family is here in 1981?”

Roz thought for a minute and hummed. “Well my dad is in Green Bay and my mom is in Shawano (pronounced shaw-no). I actually was going to move with Hope soon from Madison. A few months ago, my mom got a job here in California.”

Nikki looked up and asked, “Really where?”

Roz tossed more peas into the pot. “Um, I can’t remember the company but I know it was in Lancaster about an hour and a half from here. I’m just glad that my mom was visiting for the weekend. I would have felt worse if I had left Hope alone in the house.”

“Huh, you would have been pretty close to here then. What were you going to do once you got out here?” Nikki asked.

Roz laughed, “I honestly have no idea. I probably would have just taken care of Hope and the house. I’ve never really known what I wanted to do other than take care of people. I managed our finances, schedules, cleaned, cooked, and cared for Hope.”

Tommy laughed, “So basically, you are doing the same thing here for us. Oh, hey Nik I think she should be our manager or something. What do you think?”

Nikki looked at Roz for a minute while she dealt with the peas. “We gotta ask Vince and Mick, but I don’t see why not.”

Roz dumped her last handful of beans into the pot and smiled at Nikki. “Thanks Nikki. I think I’d rather leave the music stuff to someone else though.” She went to the kitchen and got the peas ready to soak overnight. It was already pretty late and she was getting tired. She yawned and turned to Tommy, “I’m kinda tired. I think I’m gonna go change and lay down. Maybe tomorrow we can look into getting me some more clothes.”

Tommy hugged her and kissed the top of her head, “I’ll probably be in there later. Sweet dreams.”

Roz smiled at him, “Night T” She then looked at Nikki who was looking grumpy again. *There he goes again with mood swings.* She decided to surprise him and kissed his cheek before saying, “Goodnight Nikki.”

Nikki gave her a small smile and turned back to his notebook as he said, “Night Roz.”

After she changed and laid in Tommy’s bed, Roz wondered what tomorrow might bring.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay adhd, anxiety and depression suck butt.
> 
> *6/7/20 I made some minor grammatical corrections*

Roz woke up feeling sweaty and constricted. *God damn, I’m in bed with a fucking octopus.* Roz looked across the room and saw Vince in his bed. Going off of the wavy hair that was tickling her neck and shoulder, she was being aggressively cuddled by Tommy. She decided to try to slip out of his arms and it was definitely a battle. At first Tommy just pulled her in tighter. After a few minutes, she managed to get out of his arms. Roz stretched and looked at Tommy and Vince. Neither boy seemed to be waking up any time soon. 

Roz decided to take a shower before working on the black-eye peas. She grabbed the last clean pair of Tommy’s shorts and snagged a black t-shirt. Roz crept quietly out of the bedroom and to the bathroom. Once she was in the bathroom, she cringed at the filth. She peered into the shower and was relieved to see there wasn’t any mold. She grabbed a towel and laid it and the clothes on the towel rack. 

As she was washing her body, Roz had a panicked thought. *Shit! I really hope that I switched my spare menstrual cup into my cloak when I put everything else in there. I do not want to use tampons or pads from this era. I don’t even think there are any commercially produced menstrual cups in the US until the late 80's. My cup would be so much cleaner and cheaper.* Roz finished up and got out and dried herself off. Once she was dressed, Roz quickly braided her hair back. Before heading to the kitchen, Roz went to look in her cloak and found that she did indeed have her menstrual cup in one of the inner pockets of her cloak. *Thank goodness for seemingly infinite pockets* Roz put the cup and cloak back.

Roz looked around at the living room as she passed through to get to the kitchen. The bathroom was definitely more gross than the living room. *It will have to be the first thing that I clean after the food prep is done. That bathroom is gross.* 

Roz checked the water level on the black-eye peas and added the rest of the needed water. Once she turned the heat on medium-low, she started adding ingredients. After adding the chicken bouillon, garlic, salt, pepper, and bay leaves, she got ready to chop the onions. She started to think about the time turner necklace. *I’m not sure if I want to try to use it. I am more worried. I’m afraid that it’s not going to work. I don’t want to find out that it doesn’t work. It would be terrible to have to go without watching Hope grow up.* At this point Roz had tears streaming down her face. Whether it was cutting the onions or her emotions, she wasn’t sure. 

At this point Nikki walked into the kitchen and saw Roz starting to cut the last onion. *Oh, this will be good. She hasn’t noticed me yet. I can have some fun and try to scare her.* Nikki walked up behind her and covered her eyes and yelled out, “Good morning Roz!”

Roz jumped and screamed as the knife slipped and cut her left ring finger. “Fuck, Nikki! You absolute ass!” Roz dropped the knife on the counter and elbowed him out of the way. She quickly grabbed a paper towel and applied pressure to her finger. Nikki's eyes widened and he froze in the middle of the kitchen. Roz looked around the kitchen and then at him. “Nikki, I need your help. Can you grab me the vodka? I need to clean this cut.” 

Nikki took a swig of the vodka before he handed it to Roz. She took the paper towel off and ran her hand under the tap. “Thanks for opening it Nik,” she said as she poured the vodka over the cut. The blood had mostly stopped. She wrapped a clean paper towel on her finger and turned to Nikki, “Okay Nik I’m a bloody mess and it’s your fault. This means you have the pleasure of helping out with the rest of the chopping. Also, I need you to find some stuff for me.”

Nikki eyed her warily, “Are you okay? Seriously, how are not freaking out at me? Most chicks would be panicking and freaking the fuck out.”

Roz shrugged, “Well I’m pretty sure you didn’t mean to make me almost cut my finger tip off. As long as you help me out, I have no reason to get upset.”

“Wow, so, what do you need first?” Nikki said.

“I need super glue and duct tape.” Roz said matter-of-factly. Roz smirked at Nikki’s wide eyes, “Be lucky I didn’t ask for a needle and thread. Its small enough that the super glue will hold the edges of the wound together. Also, I'm glad that the knife was so sharp. It will heal much better than if the knife were dull.”

Nikki started to rummage around in the junk drawer. After a couple of minutes, he set the super glue and duct tape on the counter next to Roz. 

“Thanks Nikki. Can you take the cap off of the glue, and then cut a 4-inch-long piece of duct tape?” Roz asked as she looked to see if the bleeding had stopped. Since the bleeding had stopped, she took the super glue from Nikki and then spread a little over the cut. She then took a piece of a clean paper towel and folded it and put it over the dry glue. She looked up and saw that Nikki was holding the piece of tape, and she asked, “Okay Nikki, can you wrap the tape around my finger, on top of the paper towel?”

After he wrapped the tape around her finger, Nikki brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. Roz blushed and stammered, “Th-thanks for helping me Nikki.”

Still holding her hand, he frowned and looked up at her. “You shouldn’t be thanking me. It’s my fault that you got hurt.”

Roz lightly squeezed his fingers and said, “While it was a stupid thing to do, I’m pretty damn sure that you didn’t do it just so that I would get hurt. Anyways, it’s time for sous chef Nikki to get to work. Can you finish chopping that last onion?”

Nikki chuckled and said, “Sure thing babe.” He kissed the palm of her hand before letting go. As Nikki cut the last onion, Roz cleaned up the blood and paper towels. When he was done with the onion, Roz dumped the onions into the stock pot. Roz then grabbed the ham from the fridge and set it on the cutting board. “Well Master Chef, what size do you want me to cut the ham to be?” Nikki asked.

Roz chuckled, “Can you cut it into quarter-inch cubes?”

As Nikki started cutting the ham, he decided to ask a few questions to get to know Roz a little. “So, besides us, who was your favorite band?”

Roz thought for a moment, “Well, my other favorite band would be Green Day. My favorite solo artist is Machine Gun Kelly. Green Day won’t be around until 1990-ish, and Machine Gun Kelly won’t even be born until 1990.”

Nikki scoffed, “Well that doesn’t actually tell me what kind of music you like.”

Roz rolled her eyes, “You should have asked that question then. I like rock music the most, but I like almost all types of music. The only things that I don’t like that much are most rap, and almost all country music.” Roz started grabbing up the cut ham and putting it in the pot.

“That sounds like such a cop out answer. But anyway, what is your favorite movie and favorite book?” Nikki asked as he looked at her for a moment. 

Roz laughed, “I don’t know if you are going like the way I answer this question either. My favorite movies are the live action Lord of the Rings and Hobbits movies. My favorite books are the Harry Potter books. Before you ask, it is impossible for me to pick a single favorite book or movie.”

Nikki scoffed, “Of course you don’t give a simple answer. Well, what do you normally do for fun?”

Roz thought for a moment, “Well I read, watch movies and TV, listen to music, and I play video games. Video games have come a long way. It’s almost like being immersed in a different world.”

Nikki thought a moment and then asked, “Well what kind of partying do you even do? And, how do you have fun at a party without any drugs?”

Roz laughed at the pout Nikki had on his face, “Well I’ve only been to one real party. It was a frat party where we played drinking games like flip cup and beer pong. We also danced crazily and sang drinking songs. Then late-night tacos before bed. Most of the drinking I’ve done was with my mom and at family gatherings. Once my mom even made the mistake of telling my drunken self that there were leftovers in a crock pot in the fridge. I went to go get myself something to eat and when I went to set the glass lid down on the counter, I completely missed and it shattered all over the floor. Before my mom came upstairs, I started to try and clean up. I ended up getting a big cut on one of my fingers. My mom freaked out and then cleaned the mess up and then she cleaned my hand. My drunk ass thought it was hilarious when the hydrogen peroxide started bubbling up. I was giggling quite a lot at that. It’s easy to have a fun and crazy time without drugs. You just have to learn to let your mind and body loose. It also helps to ignore the little voice saying ‘No, don’t do that!’”

Nikki looked at her skeptically, “Seriously, you just turned 19 and your mom is the one who regularly gets you drunk?”

Roz laughed at the look on Nikki’s face, “Well yea of course she is. It’s legal in Wisconsin for a parent to give their minor child alcohol. My mom taught me how to get drunk responsibly. Don’t drink on an empty stomach. Don’t drive. Keep yourself well hydrated. I’ve never been black out drunk or had a hangover.”

Nikki finished cutting the last of the ham and looked at Roz, “If you’ve never blacked out or had a hangover, you just haven’t drunk enough.”

Roz rolled her eyes at Nikki and said, “Let’s just agree to disagree.” Roz put the last of the ham in the pot at set it to a simmer. Roz saw that it was just a few minutes past noon. “Are you guys practicing again today? I was thinking of trying to clean the bathroom but that might have to wait until the cut on my hand heals up some.”

Nikki took her injured hand and looked it over. “Mick will be here later and I was probably going to just write until then.”

Roz looked at her hand in Nikki’s for a moment and then asked “Are you hungry? I think I’m gonna make some grits and sausage. I can make enough for you guys."

Nikki kissed the back of her hand before letting go. “I sure hope it actually tastes good.” he said, smirking as he left the kitchen.

Roz rolled her eyes and called after him, “Yea like I’d poison you!” She quickly got to work and started on breakfast while thinking. *If Nikki’s going to act like that, maybe it won’t be so bad to be stuck here.*


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *6/7/20 I made some minor grammatical corrections*

After Nikki left the kitchen, Roz started to get the things she needed to make grits. While the water was starting to boil, she put some sausages in the oven to cook. When the water was boiling, Roz put salt, butter, and the dry grits into the water and stirred it. Then she put the temperature to medium-low, put the lid on, and then set a timer for twenty minutes. She then stirred the black-eye peas and replaced the lid.

Roz started humming ‘I think I’m OKAY' (a Machine Gun Kelly song from 2019), as she started to clean up the utensils and wipe down the counter tops. After a little bit she started to sing the song. “Watch me, take a good thing and fuck it all up in one night  
Catch me, I'm the one on the run away from the headlights  
No sleep, up all week wasting time with people I don't like  
I think something's fucking wrong with me” 

Just as she sang the word “me", Tommy wrapped his arms around her and said, “Rozzy, there ain’t nothing wrong with you.”

Roz let out a short laugh and said, “Of course there isn’t Tommy. I was just singing a song that came out in 2019.” She then gently removed Tommy’s arms from around her. 

Tommy pouted when she took his arms off of her. He tried to play it off as a pout about the song she was singing. “Why would you want to sing anything besides our songs?” 

Roz rolled her eyes and stirred both the grits and the black-eye peas. “What exactly makes you think it’s not one of your songs?” Roz chuckled as she teased Tommy. 

He crossed his arms and truly pouted at her, “That isn’t even our genre of music. He’s probably some stupid young kid.”

Roz turned to Tommy and rolled her eyes. “He's 30 years old T. Well he is that age starting April 22, 2020. Also, if he’s stupid then so are you.” Roz grabbed some garbage bags and walked out of the kitchen and into the empty living room. She started to pick up all of the trash. 

Tommy decided to follow her around like a puppy. After about 10 minutes of him bumping into every time she stopped, Roz handed him a bag and instructed him to help her. Tommy decided to start asking he a bunch of random questions. “Hey Rozzy, what’s your favorite movie from our time?”  
Roz laughed, “I actually don’t have to think about that. My favorite movie that came out before 1981 is Star Wars: A New Hope.”

“Haha you are such a geek.”

Roz laughed and said, “Tell me something that I don’t know. Any other questions from the Spanish Inquisition?”

Tommy thought for a moment and then asked, “If you were stuck on a desert island, what 3 things would bring?” 

“Well, that’s a tough one. I would want a satellite phone so I can call for rescue. I would also want a Swiss Army knife, and a cross bow that already has bolts. I gotta be able to fend for myself while I wait for extraction.” Roz tied off the full garbage bag and got another. 

Tommy chuckled, “You answered that really quickly and really boringly.”

“Well I’ve had many discussions over the years with my friends about what is best to bring to a desert island. What would you bring?”

Tommy laughed and said, “A hot chick, lots of whiskey, and pizza.”

Roz looked at him in shock, “Dude that is soooooo impractical!” She rounded on Nikki who just came back out of his room, “What 3 things would YOU bring to a desert island?”

Nikki quickly said, “Booze, drugs, and hot chicks”

Roz face-palmed, “OH my god! You two are so impractical!”

Nikki looked between Tommy and Roz and Tommy shook his head. Nikki then asked, “Okay, what would you bring?”

Roz looked at him and said, “Well I'd be smart about it. I'd take a satellite phone, a Swiss Army knife, and a cross bow with bolts. Instead of some random chick, you guys should bring me. I’ll rescue you or at least provide for you. You can just sit there and look pretty.”

Nikki looked Roz up and down as she tied off another garbage bag and he smirked. Before he could say anything, Tommy said, “I’ll be the prettiest island buddy ever!” At this, Nikki started to glare at Tommy. Nikki scoffed and said, “T-bone you would never even survive on a desert island.” Nikki then kicked Tommy’s bag out of the way and sat propped up on the arm of the couch with his legs bent and his feet on the couch. He got his notebook out and started to pretend to work in it while he glared at Tommy and Roz.

Tommy pouted and Roz decided to just ignore Nikki and his mood. Roz looked around the living room and decided that it was clean enough for today. *The deep clean will have to wait until my hand has healed some. I wonder what time it is* Roz tied off her garbage bag and asked Tommy, “Can you please take the garbage bags out to the dumpster? I have an injury and I have to check on the grits.”

Tommy dropped his garbage bag in the middle of tying it off, and rushed over to Roz. “Rozlyn! You shouldn’t be cleaning if you’re hurt! What happened?” He started looking over her body for an injury. 

Roz smiled and was about to answer before Nikki growled and interrupted from his place on the couch, “I scared her while she was cutting onions and she cut her finger pretty badly.”

Tommy’s eyes went wide and he started pacing in front of the couch while yelling at Nikki. “What the fuck Nikki! Why would you do that? We’re supposed to be taking care of her, not hurting her!”

Nikki wasn’t having it. He stood up and threw his notebook to the ground before yelling back, “Seriously Tommy?! Do you honestly think I would hurt her on purpose? If I realized she had a knife in her hand I wouldn’t have tried to scare her!”

Tommy looked like he was about to start yelling back when Roz interrupted him by gently lying her hand on his arm. He turned to her and his face softened. Roz showed her left hand to Tommy. She pointed to the duct tape on her left ring finger and said, “I accidentally cut my ring finger when Nikki spooked me earlier. He already apologized and he even helped by getting me the things I needed to clean my cut. It was kind of deep so I had to super glue it closed and do a makeshift band aid from duct tape and paper towel. He even helped cut the rest of the onion and the ham. I am fine. I have had worse accidents in the kitchen.”

Tommy looked over her hand as she spoke. He looked up and said, “Still he shouldn’t have tried to scare you.”

Roz ruffled his hair with her free hand. She smiled and said, “Tommy, you guys all are going to be crazy to be around. I don’t want you guys to change just because I’m here. Please, just be yourselves.”

Tommy chuckled and pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. Neither Tommy nor Roz noticed Nikki watching them. Nikki was scowling at them, and he stormed out of the living room. He stomped off to his room and slammed his door. Just as Nikki slammed his door, Vince walked into the living room and cooed at Roz and Tommy embracing. “Aww, look at the lovebirds being all snuggly. What’s up with Nikki? His bitching woke me up.” Vince said as he plopped down on the couch. 

Roz blushed and ducked out of Tommy’s arms, “I gotta check on breakfast.”

Tommy smiled after her and Vince asked him, “So man, what was up with Nikki?”

Tommy frowned and looked towards the kitchen where Roz was checking on the food. He sat next to Vince and shoved his hands in his hair. He looked to his left at Vince and said in a low voice, “That fucker snuck up on Roz while she had a fucking knife in her hand. Nikki was trying to scare her while she was cutting onions or something. He was fucking careless. She could have ended up in a hospital.”

Vince chuckled at how mad Tommy was. “Tommy, Roz seemed fine to me. I think you’re just being overprotective because you wanna fuck her.” 

At this Tommy went to start punching Vince in the arm, “Shut up dude! She’s gonna hear you!”

Vince shoved him away and continued, “And Nik's probably pissy because he wants to fuck her too and is jealous of you.”

Tommy punched Vince once more and whined, “Dude c'mon! Shut up! It’d be worse if Nikki heard you. I don’t want to put up with a worse mood during practice.”

As Tommy spoke, Mick walked into the apartment. Mick sighed, “What did you do to make him mad now teenager?”

Tommy rolled his eyes but Vince responded, “He yelled at Nikki for accidentally hurting Roz. So of course, Nikki’s jealous and pissed that Tommy yelled at him.”

Mick’s face scrunched up in annoyance, “So where's Roz?”

Vince pointed towards the kitchen, “I’m guessing she is the cause of the amazing smells.”

Mick shook his head at Vince and Tommy and then went to the kitchen. He kept silent as she took the sausages out of the oven. As soon as she set them down, he spoke up, “Hey there ‘lil witch. I hear that Nikki hurt you earlier. Are you okay?”

Roz sighed, “Tommy’s exaggerating. It was an accident. Nikki spooked me and I accidentally cut my finger.”

Mick saw the makeshift bandage and questioned her further, “How badly did the dick hurt you?”

Roz growled, “Again, it was an accident! Nikki even helped me bandage my cut and finished cutting the last of the onions and the ham. It’s nice that Tommy feels so protective of me but there is nothing to defend against.”

Mick hummed and grabbed the vodka. He took a swig of the vodka and said, “Just wanted to get your take on what happened.”

Roz sighed and then set up bowls next to the pot of grits and the plate of sausages. She looked at Mick as she left the kitchen, “Feel free to have some grits and sausage. Pepper and salt are next to the plates. I’m going to get the guys. Hopefully Nikki will come out of his room.”

Mick put his hand on her shoulder to stop Roz. He looked at her and said, “I can tell that Nikki and Tommy both are at least intrigued by you. They probably already like you in their way. You should think on things.”

Roz looked down at the floor and blushed. “I don’t know what I feel right now. It’s too soon. But thanks Mick, you’re a good fake cousin.” 

She left the kitchen and went to the living room. Vince and Tommy were chatting away. Roz cleared her throat to get their attention. “Hey guys, the grits and sausage are ready in the kitchen."

Vince got up and said, “Thanks Roz.” Before heading to the kitchen. 

Tommy sprung up and enveloped Roz in a big hug. “Thank you so much Rozzy!” he exclaimed before kissing her on the forehead and bounding to the kitchen. 

Roz watched Tommy with a smile on her face. *Well, I guess it’s time to check on Nikki. I he’ll have calmed down.* Roz raised a fist to knock on Nikki’s door and she heard some shuffling beyond the door. As she waited, she shifted her posture before leaning back against the wall. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Ideas were flowing but it was difficult to actually write the chapter itself.

As Roz waited for Nikki to come to his door, she picked at the duct tape on her finger. After a minute, she knocked on Nikki’s door again. Finally, she heard some movement on the other side of the door. Roz flinched when Nikki violently threw the door open. He leaned against the door frame, crossed his arms, and fixed an annoyed yet questioning gaze on Roz. 

Her shoulders slumped and she looked down at her feet for a moment. Roz sighed and said, “I feel like I should be apologizing, but I can’t control Tommy. I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but, I know it was an accident. I just wanted to say thank you again for helping me with the food.” Roz then surprised Nikki by springing up on her tip toes and kissing him on the cheek.

Nikki’s eyes widened in shock and he just stared at her for a moment. Roz sensed that he wasn’t going to say anything. She smiled and started to head to the kitchen as she said, “Well, the grits are ready. If you want food you have to come to the kitchen to g-"

Before she got too far, Nikki caught Roz by the wrist and pulled her into a tight embrace. Roz stiffened at first. After a moment she wrapped her arms around his waist and relaxed into him. A few minutes slipped by before Nikki pulled back slightly. He simply said, “Thanks,” before kissing her on the temple. He let her go completely before he rushed off to the kitchen. Roz blinked slowly and thought about how much she wanted to be back in Nikki’s arms already. 

After a few minutes, she snapped back out of it and headed to the kitchen. Roz groaned when she entered the kitchen. There was a large pile of grits on the floor in front of the stove that looked as if someone stepped in it. “Oy vey! Boys, this is ridiculous. Which one of you stepped in the food and got it all over?”

Mick just pointed to Tommy and kept eating. Tommy sheepishly looked at the bottom of his socks. The bottoms of his socks were sticky with grits. Tommy pulled his socks off and just tossed them to the side. One of his socks stuck to the wall. Tommy snickered, “Whoops.”

Roz snatched up Tommy’s socks and rounded on him. She let out an exasperated sigh, “Seriously Tommy, this is just gross.” Roz looked again to the small, smushed pile of grits. Suddenly, she had a smirk on her face and a wicked gleam in her eyes. She bent down and scooped the pile of grits with Tommy’s socks. She slowly walked towards the trash can on the opposite side of the kitchen. 

Instead of going to the trash can, she turned to Tommy and started to smear the grits into his hair. Tommy sat there blinking owlishly. Sensing mayhem, Mick quickly ate the last bit of his food, put his dishes in the sink, and escaped to the living room. Vince looked at Tommy’s hair with a disgusted look on his face and scooched away from him. Nikki smirked and started to eat as he leaned on the counter. Roz started to chuckle and said to Tommy, “Keep this in mind. I do not tolerate gross, sticky messes in the common walkways. Now finish your food and take a damn shower before practice.” She then made quick work of cleaning up before she grabbed her own food. 

She sat on the counter next to Nikki and started eating. Vince finished quietly, not wanting to incur Roz’s wrath, and placed his dishes in the sink. Tommy finished shortly after Vince. He pouted at Roz as he put his own dishes in the sink. Once everyone else had left the kitchen, Nikki nudged Roz’s knee to get her attention. He smirked at her and said, “Babe, that was fuckin’ awesome! Also, the grits actually taste good. I’m glad that I got you the biggest container.”

Roz smiled to herself, and blushed slightly. She stayed silent and quickly ate the rest of her food. Nikki finished his food first and set his dishes in the sink before leaving the kitchen. Once she finished her food, she cleaned all of the dishes and stirred the black-eyed peas. She decided that she was going to clean up the bathroom, bandage or no bandage. 

Roz grabbed the cleaning supplies, and an empty garbage bag and headed to the bathroom. As she passed through the living room, she smiled at the boys starting to practice. When Roz got the bathroom she braced herself. She opened the door and cringed. First she gathered dirty clothes and towels and she set them just outside the door. Then Roz started grabbing up the used condoms, empty hair dye boxes, empty toothpaste tubes, empty hairspray cans, and much more. Roz started humming as she started to scrub down the bathroom. Roz was running a silent commentary as she scrubbed. *Ewww this toilet is almost yellow with the amount of piss on it. I know they’re guys, but still this is ridiculous. Also we need a new shower curtain. This one is caked in mildew.* 

While she finished cleaning, she was also thinking about time travel. *I wish I didn’t have to think about this. I think it will be easier to try the time turner if the boys aren’t around. I don’t want to leave the boys, especially Nikki. I have to try to get back to my time for Hope’s sake.* Roz looked around the bathroom and decided that it was good enough for now. She grabbed the garbage bag and silently went through the living room. Nikki caught her eye and winked and smirked at her as she passed by. Roz smiled back and then went outside to the dumpster.

Roz noticed that the sun was getting low in the sky as she went back inside. When she got back inside, the boys were done playing. Mick was in the armchair, drinking. Tommy and Vince were animatedly talking about some party later. Nikki wasn’t in the living room though. Roz cleared her throat to get Tommy’s and Vince’s attention, “Dinner should be almost ready. All I have to do is cook the rice.”

Tommy cheered loudly, “Awesome, thanks Roz" He then turned back to Vince who just smiled at Roz. Mick just nodded his head.

Roz went back to the kitchen and boiled water before putting in butter, salt, and rice. With nothing left to do but wait, Roz's mind turned to the time turner again. She had a sinking feeling that it wouldn’t work. She still had to try, and wanted to try it so that she could know for sure. Roz wanted to do it the next time the guys were out. She felt torn and, as if, no matter what happens, she was abandoning someone, somewhere, some when. 

After about 20 minutes, Roz shook herself out of her thoughts. She checked the rice and it was done. She hadn’t realized that she had been thinking for so long. Roz got bowls and silverware out. She called out to the boys. Tommy came in first followed by Vince and then Mick. Roz started to show them where everything was. Roz noticed that Nikki still hadn’t come back out of his room. She sighed and left to try to coax him out of his room for the second time that day. 

Roz knocked on his door and leaned on the door frame. She didn’t hear anything from inside of the room and called out to him, “Hey Nikki! Foods ready!” She knocked again and just before she was about to give up, he finally came out. 

Nikki glanced at her as he passed her by, “Thanks babe.” Roz smiled and followed after him. 

When they got to the kitchen, Tommy exclaimed, “Rozzy! This stuff is amazing! I think I could eat this forever.”

Mick shook his head and said, “It’s god but if you don’t watch how much you eat, you’ll eventually get fat.”

Tommy pouted and Vince laughed. Vince looked at Roz and said, “It is way better than I thought it would be.”

Nikki finally took a bite of the black-eyed peas and rice and let out a small moan. He smiled at Roz, “Roz this tastes great. So who wants to go out after this?” 

Tommy whooped and Vince agreed. Mick thought a moment before saying, “Eh sure. What about you Roz?”

Roz fell silent and became fascinated with her bowl. Nikki nudged her and gave her a questioning look. She sighed and said, “I don’t think so. I’m going to clean more and try to re-arrange stuff in Tommy’s, Vince’s, and my room. Gotta try to get room for another mattress. Also I wanna do the bathroom again. I even have to put the leftovers away. There is less left than I thou-“

Nikki cut her off by putting his hand over her mouth like he had in the diner. “You are rambling again. You get this one pass. Next time, you’re coming with us.”

Roz smiled sadly and gently took Nikki’s hand off her face. The rest of dinner seamed to pass in silence to Roz. She was thinking about the time turner again, and didn’t notice any of what the guys said. Roz was thinking for so long that she hadn’t noticed that the guys were about to leave the apartment. Tommy came up to her and gave her a hug and whispered in her ear, “Don’t work too hard.” Tommy left and Mick and Vince waved as they left. Roz took the last bite of her food and went to put her dishes in the sink. 

She was about to start putting the food away when she felt someone come up behind her. She quickly turned around and calmed when she saw Nikki. “Hey Nikki, I thought you left without saying bye.” She said sadly as she leaned against the counter. 

Nikki laughed and said, “Relax babe, you’re actin’ like you’re never gonna see me again.”

Roz forced a smile and said, “Right, well I hope you guys have fun.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to literally hold herself together.

Nikki didn’t seem to pick up on the fact that she was upset. He kissed her forward and said, “See you later Roz.” He left, not noticing that Roz had started to tear up.

Roz wiped a tear off her face and started clearing up the food. Once the food was put away, she cleaned the dishes. She wanted to at least leave things relatively clean before her possible departure. Once she was done, she looked around the kitchen and the living room before going to Tommy’s and Vince’s room. She grabbed her cloak and wrapped it around herself. 

She dug out the time turner necklace and put it around her neck. She then sat on Tommy’s bed. Roz took a deep breath and started to fiddle with the time turner. She also, started to think about Hope. Hope may be the only thing she really wanted to get back to in 2020, but she had to try. A couple of minutes turned into an hour. As time slipped by, Roz lost hope and the tears from earlier started to flow freely. She started to get frustrated and whipped the necklace off. 

Midnight came and went and Roz still had no luck. She screamed and threw the necklace at the wall. The small hourglass inside shattered upon impact. She whipped the cloak off and threw it to the side before collapsing to the bed. Roz started to sob uncontrollably and curled into a ball. After a long while her cries died down, and her last thought before she passed out was of Hope.


	8. Chapter 8

Roz woke up slowly, feeling groggy and almost paralyzed. After a few moments, she manages to crack open an eyelid. Both eyes spring open once she notices where she is. She is back in her bedroom, and according to the solar clock on the wall, it is 10 am on July 10 2020. It is 8 days after her birthday and less than 24 hours after she had left 2020. 

Roz tries to sit up, only to realize that she can’t move anything other than her eyes. After a few minutes she starts to panic and tries to scream and call out. *MOM!!! … HOPE!!!!!!!!! … Help! Something’s wrong! I can’t move!* Roz started to sob once she realized that she wasn’t actually talking. After about half an hour, her sobs died down. She laid there motionless as she stared at the clock. 

Around 11:30 am, she started to hear voices on the other side of her door. “Mama Annie, when is Rozzy comin’ home?” Hope asked. Roz’s mother Annie said something that Roz couldn’t quite make out. She heard Hope again, “I thought she wasn’t going to stay at her friend Kayt’s house overnight. Are you sure she’ll be fine Mama?” Annie said something back that sounded reassuring.

Roz tried to get up again and tried to call out again to no avail. She started to thrash around and scream. She felt as if she were actually thrashing around but her body wasn’t actually moving. After about an hour she gave up on movement. *Gods, this is worse than being stuck in the past. At least in the past I had the guys. How am I going to get out of this? I don’t even know how I got like this.* She sobbed as she listened to her mom and Hope go about their days. 

***Meanwhile in 1981***

Nikki woke to blood curdling screams. He rubbed at his face and turned to his bedside to look at the alarm clock. Nikki’s brow furrowed when he saw that it was only 10 am. It took him another moment to realize that the screams were coming from the other end of the apartment. After another moment he realized that it was Roz that was screaming. He jumped out of bed and ran to the other bedroom and nearly crashed into Tommy in the doorway. Vince was nowhere to be seen. Tommy and Nikki stared at Roz for a moment before tripping over each other to get to her.

Roz’s eyes were shut tight as she screamed. Tommy tried to shake her shoulders to get her to wake up. “Roz! Wake u-… Ow!” Tommy clutched his left cheek. He looked up at Nikki and whined, “Nik she hit me.”

Nikki rolled his eyes, “Seriously T, she’s having a nightmare or something and you start shaking her. What the fuck did you think would happen dumbass?”

Tommy looked sheepish, “Sorry Nikki.”

Nikki scoffed, “Don’t fuckin’ apologize to me. Roz is the one who’s hurting.” He looked down to see that she had stopped thrashing. Instead, she had tears streaming down her cheeks. He wiped the tears from her eyes and started to run his fingers through her hair. Nikki leaned closer to Roz, “Shhhh Roz it’s just a dream. You’re safe here with Tommy and me. You just need to wake up” 

The boys sat with Roz for a while with no sign of her waking up. They both ended up falling asleep on either side of her with Nikki’s fingers tangled in her hair and one of her hands held tightly in Tommy’s.

***Meanwhile back in 2020***

Around 1pm Roz started to feel as if someone unseen was touching her and talking to her. She felt as if someone was holding her hand and running their fingers through her hair. She squeezed the hand in hers and leaned further into the hand in her hair. She tried to listen to the voice but couldn’t quite make out what the person was saying. 

After a while, Roz heard Hope’s voice outside of the door again. “Mama Annie? Has Rozzy called yet? … If she hasn’t, shouldn’t we call Kayt? … Oh ok.” Hope sounded sadder and more worried than any 10-year-old had a right to be.

Roz tried yelling out to Hope again. *Hope! I’m right here! Please, hear me!* Roz started to sob again taking comfort in the unseen hand in hers and in her hair. Not long after, she heard 2 voices that seemed to melt together. “Rozzy it’s just a dream. Please wake up sweetie.” “Babe we’re right here with you.”

Roz’s breath caught in her throat before she called out. *Tommy! Nikki!*

“That’s right … we’re here … please w-,“ she heard bits and pieces in response. She seemed to be fading out again.

***Back in 1981***

Nikki woke with a start to hear more sobs and then lightly shook Tommy awake.

“Rozzy it’s just a dream. Please wake up sweetie,” said Tommy.

“Babe we’re right here with you.” Nikki said reassuringly.

“Tommy! Nikki!”

Nikki looked at Tommy and whispered, “T she just said our names.” He looked down at Roz and started running his fingers through her hair again. “That’s right babe, it’s Nikki and Tommy.”

Tommy laced his fingers in Roz’s again and squeezed. “We’re here Rozzy. Mick and Vince should be back soon too.”

Nikki saw her eyelid’s start to flutter. “Please wake up. I know you can do it.”

Roz groaned and her eyes slowly opened. She could still feel a hand in her left hand, and another in her hair. She looked around and she saw that she wasn’t in her bedroom anymore. She looked to her left and then to her right and saw Tommy’s hand in hers and Nikki’s hand in her hair. She squeezed Tommy’s hand and looked into Nikki’s eyes, “Nikki? What’s going on? How long have I been out?”

Nikki bit his lip and answered, “Well, we got back really early this morning. You were already asleep and Tommy crashed on the couch. We woke up to your screams at like 10 am. Tweedle-Dum over there tried to shake you awake but that obviously didn’t work. We tried to wake you up every time that you were screaming but nothing worked. We’ve been layin’ here with you ever since.”

Roz took a deep shaky breath and blinked some tears from her eyes. She tried to look towards the alarm clock but couldn’t see it from in-between Nikki and Tommy. “What time is it?”

Tommy looked at the clock on his other side, “Well, it’s still April 10th. It’s 2:30 pm. Did you want to tell us about your dream?”

Roz’s eyes welled up and tears threatened to spill over. She shakily said, “Six and a half hours.”

Nikki’s brow furrowed and he looked at Tommy who shrugged. Nikki looked back at Roz and asked, “What was six and a half hours?”

She stared at the ceiling before responding, “I wasn’t asleep and I wasn’t dreaming. For six and a half hours, I was back in my bedroom in 2020. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t even scream. I kept hearing my mom and Hope walking around in the hallway. I swear I could feel you guys and sort of hear you guys. Fuck, this sucks. I thought I was back home.”

Tommy sat up and looked down into Roz’s face. “I’m sorry Rozzy. That really sucks that you were stuck. I wish we …”

Tommy was cut off when Vince came into the bedroom and laughed. “Awww you guys started a threesome? You should have waited for me. We could have had an orgy.”

“Vince! Dude, not cool!” Tommy squawked. 

Nikki picked up the nearest hard object, which happened to be one of Roz’s boots, and he hurled it at Vince’s head. The boot hit him in the forehead with a solid thunk noise.

Vince yelped and rubbed at his forehead. “Nikki what the fuck was that for? It was just a joke!”

Nikki sat up with his hand still in Roz’s hair making soothing motions against her skull. Nikki gestured to Roz and asked, “Vin can’t you tell that Roz is upset?”

Vince finally got a good look at Roz. His mind noted the bloodshot eyes and the tear tracks on her cheeks. “I’m sorry Roz. Guys, Mick is here for practice. You gonna be okay Roz?”

Roz sat up and leaned into Nikki’s shoulder. She took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know Vinny. I think I was stuck in 2 different places at once. I don’t feel like talking about it right now. Maybe later I’ll tell you and Mick more.”

Tommy looked to Roz and asked, “Do you want to be alone? Or do you want to come in the living room while we practice?”

Roz shrugged and quietly said, “Living room I guess.”

Tommy kissed the back of her hand and let go before he got off the bed an headed to the living room. Nikki kissed Roz on the forehead before he too got out of bed. Roz went to get off the bed too but she stumbled and nearly fell. Luckily Nikki was still standing next to the bed and caught her before she could fall.  
  
Roz looked up at Nikki from within his arms. She buried her face in his chest and hugged him tightly. After a couple of minutes embracing her, Nikki helped Roz out to the couch in the living room. Roz stayed silent while the boys practiced, and never left the couch. 

She was lost in thought and never noticed that hours had passed and the guys were done playing. Mick was sitting in the armchair drinking. Vince was sitting on the floor with Tommy. Nikki came and sat next to Roz. The guys all looked at her and no one spoke at first.

Mick was the first to break the silence, “So, little witch, I hear some weird shit has happened since we left last night. What did you do when we left last night?”

Roz drew her knees up to her chest and stared at her feet. “Well I did straighten up the kitchen a bit, but nothing else. Afterwards I was trying to use that time turner necklace that I had been playing with when I first time traveled. I just wanted to see Hope again. The fucking necklace did nothing. I chucked it at the wall and cried myself to sleep. When I woke up I swear I was in my bedroom in 2020. But I couldn’t move or talk. I could hear my mom and Hope. Eventually, I started to hear Tommy and Nikki and passed out again. When I woke up, I was back here again.”

Vince cringed and asked, “How long were you there?”

Roz looked at Vince for a moment and said, “According to the clock on the wall, I was there for at least six and a half hours. To be honest, I don’t really want to talk about it anymore. I don’t even want to think about it.”

Nikki got a wicked gleam in his eyes and said, “I’ve got a great idea for that, copious amounts of drugs and alcohol. So, Roz, what’s your poison?”

Roz finally smiled and shook her head at Nikki. “No drugs for me Nikki. But alcohol? I could do that. Please tell me you have rum. Any rum will do, but I like spiced rum the best.”

Mick chuckled, “What’s wrong with vodka and whiskey?”

Nikki quickly went to the kitchen and Roz made a gaging noise and laughed, “Mick, they are absolutely disgusting. That’s what’s wrong with them. Sadly, my favorite liqueur doesn’t exist yet. But give me some Captain and I’ll be good to go.”

Mick just shook his head and took a big swig of his vodka. Tommy and Vince just kept laughing on the floor. Nikki came back into the living room with a big bottle and a beer. He handed the big bottle to Roz and said, “Bottoms up!”

Roz looked at the bottle in her hands and smiled. It was a half full, off brand bottle of spiced rum. “Thanks Nikki,” Roz said before she uncapped the bottle and chugged it for a bit. Mick looked unfazed by this. Tommy and Vince looked a little bit in awe. Nikki, however, looked proud.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello darlings! I’m sorry about the long wait. I had writer’s block and was trying to get used to the fact that I work on 3rd shift now. Earlier this week, I randomly got the urge to write an Axl Rose one-shot (Panic! At The Airport). As I was writing that my block went away. Well here you are!

Roz had spent the next few weeks drinking with the boys and cleaning up after them. She felt as if she was just drifting through her days on autopilot. She couldn’t stop thinking about Hope, or about how she’d most likely never get back to 2020. Also, she wasn’t truly being the effervescent girl that had come from the future anymore. If anything, she seemed almost apathetic.

Her sullen mood was making Tommy and Nikki almost worried. They weren’t worried about the amount of alcohol that she was drinking. The thing that Tommy and Nikki didn’t like was that Roz seemed to be drinking to just become numb. They wanted her to have fun with them. As time went by, Roz seemed less and less likely to snap out of it.

Nikki and Tommy were determined to get Roz to act like she had when she first arrived. Tommy kept trying to get her to have fun with her drinking by trying to make her laugh. He was always making the corniest jokes, and kept trying to get her to play drinking games. Tommy also was always letting Roz wear his clothes and he tried to help her clean if he remembered to.

Nikki’s approach was to try and provoke a reaction out of her by any means necessary. He would do and say things that ranged anywhere from sweet and caring to lewd and rude. He would kiss her cheek and say good morning. Then by the evening he would be leering at her and commenting on the fact that she was still wearing Tommy’s clothes.

What the guys didn’t realize was that Roz kept being woken up by nightmares about being stuck between 1981 and 2020. She hadn’t slept properly in at least 2 weeks. Roz looked at the clock and it was 6:47 am, which makes about 4 and a half hours of sleep for her. Roz didn’t want to move but she had to pee very badly. She grumbled as she stumbled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. *How much longer can I get by with little to no sleep? You’d think that with the amount I’m drinking I’d be passed the fuck out. But, no, I get woken in a panic half of the time and can’t get back to sleep.*

Once she was in the bathroom, she shut the door and cringed when she got a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair was in a disheveled braid with greasy strands falling out all over. She also had dark bags under her eyes. Trying to ignore the image of herself in the mirror, Roz quickly turned away from it. After she was done with the toilet, she decided to take her first shower in days.

She started the shower, and then started to undo her braid. Once Roz had unwound her braid, she ran her fingers through her hair to get some of the knots out. Roz made sure that the water was the right temperature before she took off the shorts and shirt of Tommy’s that she had been wearing. She took off her underwear and stepped under the stream of hot water.

As she went through the motions of her shower, she thought about her latest dream. In this dream it was as if she was floating above herself. She watched as blurry people flitted around her as she laid, unconscious, in a bed. She couldn’t tell exactly what the people were doing. Then the dream had changed and she was standing in the middle of her bedroom in 2020. She could see someone packing everything away. She couldn’t tell who the person was until they turned around. Roz had woken up just as she was faced with the tear streaked visage of her mother.

Roz got out of the shower, and as she was toweling off, she had a realization. She hadn’t grabbed any clothes to change into, and did not want to leave the bathroom quite yet. To avoid leaving the bathroom right away, Roz decided to do her hair first. Once she had any remaining knots out of her hair, she started to braid her hair into pigtails. As she braided her hair, she thought about the fact that Mötley Crüe was going to have their first show tomorrow night. The boys still haven’t played a full set list in one rehearsal. Roz knew that the first set, opening for Y&T, should prove interesting.

Once she had finished her braids, she made sure to tighten the towel around her body. Roz peeked out of the door and saw that it was already starting to become light outside. Then she listened to make sure she couldn’t hear any of the guys. Mick was at his place and Vince had left with a random girl last night. Once she was sure that she couldn’t hear Tommy or Nikki moving about, she slowly crept out of the bathroom and towards the bedroom. She wanted to try to get some clothes on without waking Tommy.

She managed to get in the room without any noise and made her way to the dresser. She grabbed underwear, a pair of shorts, and an Aerosmith t-shirt. She pulled the underwear on underneath the towel. Then when she went to pull the shorts on, she tripped. Roz fell backwards and onto her ass and hit the back of her head on the dresser.

When she went to get up, the towel fell off. Her eyes widened and she crossed her arms over her breasts. She looked up at Tommy and saw that his head was near the edge of the bed and was facing her. Thankfully, Tommy seemed to have stayed asleep. His eyes looked closed, and he was breathing evenly. Roz breathed out a sigh of relief. She lowered her arms and bent over again and finished getting the shorts on. Roz grabbed the t-shirt and pulled it on. Once the shirt was on, she pulled her braids back out from the shirt.

Roz decided to go see what the damage to the living room and kitchen was. What Roz didn’t realize was that Tommy had been woken up by her falling. As she left the room, Tommy shifted to his back and was staring up at the ceiling with a dopey smile on his face. For once, he wasn’t upset at being woken up at 8:25 am. *Dude, she didn’t realize that I woke up. That was awesome! Ah, the beauty of sharing a bedroom with such a babe.*

As Tommy laid in bed thinking about her, Roz was looking at the disaster that was the kitchen. She hadn’t really kept up on the dishes over the last few days. Instead, she had been opting to drink quietly and copiously. She got a glass and drank a full glass of water before she got started. As Roz did the dishes, she thought about the last couple of weeks. It occurred to her that she didn’t remember much. It was a cycle of wake up, contemplate cleaning, eat, drink, listen to rehearsal, drink more, and try to sleep alone.

The interactions with the boys were frequent but Roz wouldn’t have been able to tell you what anyone had said. Vince never seemed to really say anything to her specifically. Mick almost always was good to just sit in silence which was refreshing. She knew both Tommy and Nikki had been trying to get her attention most of the time over the last two weeks. She felt a little conflicted as to who she liked more. Tommy was sweet and funny, and Nikki was charming sometimes and crude others. She also contemplated what she could do with her days because she felt that something had to change.

Roz finished the dishes faster than she had thought she would. To put away the last mug, she had to stretch up on her tip toes. Just as she got the mug onto the shelf, Roz started to lose her balance. Just as she was about to fall forward into the counter, she felt warm hands wrap around her waist. Roz’s heartbeat picked up as she felt the person lean close and kiss her on the cheek.

“Good morning Roz,” Nikki said and then he was gone as quickly as he had appeared.

Roz took a deep breath before turning around and leaving the kitchen. Roz went out to the living room and started to pick up the trash. As she was cleaning, Mick came into the apartment.

“Hey there Glinda, where are Dorothy and the flying monkeys?” Mick asked as he started to tune his guitar.

Roz smiled at the thought of Vince dressed like Dorothy with Tommy and Nikki flapping away and circling above Vince. “Well if Dorothy came home, I never noticed. As for the monkeys, they are both probably in their bedrooms.”

After a moment, Roz asked, “If I’m Glinda, Vince is Dorothy, and Tommy and Nikki are flying monkeys, then who are you?”

Mick looked at her and smirked, “I’m the fucking Wizard of Oz.”

Roz burst out laughing. It felt like the first time she had laughed in a long time. As Roz was laughing, Tommy came out of their bedroom followed by Vince. Vince gave Roz a small smile as he sat on the couch. Tommy smiled at Roz too and asked Mick, “What did you do to get her to finally laugh?”

Mick rolled his eyes and said, “None of your business ya flying monkey.”

Roz saw Tommy pout and started laughing even more. Tommy crossed his arms and pouted and started walking towards his drum set. As he went past her, Roz grabbed the back of his t-shirt to get him to stop. She gave him s big doe eyed look and said, “Aww come on drummer boy, are you really gonna get mad at me because I finally laughed?”

Tommy looked down at her and tried to not smile at her immediately. This was the happiest he had seen Roz in weeks. Tommy pretended to glare at her and said, “I won’t be mad if you tell me what got you laughing so hard.”

Roz snorted, “Really Tommy?”

He tried to hide his smile, “Really really Roz.”

Roz “Mick compared all of us to characters from ‘The Wizard of Oz’. I was Glinda, he was the wizard, and Vince was Dorothy.”

“Hey! Not cool man,” Vince called out.

Roz rolled her eyes at him, “You’ll get over it Vince.” Then she turned back to Tommy. “Aaand best of all you and Nikki are flying monkeys.”

Just then, Nikki walked into the living room. He frowned at how close Tommy was to Roz. In Nikki’s opinion, it was bad enough that they slept in the same room; he didn’t want to have to see it. “I’m not a fucking monkey. Tommy, c’mon man, get your ass to your drums.”

He looked down and saw Roz in Tommy’s clothes again. He made a pinched face at her, “We have got to get you something different to wear. You can’t wear Tommy’s clothes to The Starwood this weekend.”

Roz ignored Nikki about the clothes and then settled herself on the couch. She felt more relaxed than she had in weeks. As she watched and listened to them, Roz laid down and her eyes began to droop.

When her eyes opened back up, Roz was back in Tommy’s bed. She sat up and leaned back against the wall. Roz looked at the clock and it was 7 am. She had to have slept for at least 15 hours. It was also the first night of sleep where she didn’t have any nightmares.

She felt the bed shift and looked down at her bedmate. Tommy was snoring softly. The left side of his body was hanging off of the bed and he looked like he was about to fall off of the bed. Roz reached out to try and pull Tommy back onto the bed. At first, he wasn’t very cooperative. Then he grumbled and cracked open an eye and playfully glared at Roz. “You better have a good reason for waking me up girlie.”

Roz laughed softly, “I do. Tommy you are literally about to fall out of bed.”

Before she knew it, Tommy had his head in her lap and his arm was thrown across her legs. He yawned while saying, “Thanks Rozzy,” and he snuggled further into her lap.

Roz’s cheeks heated up as she looked down at Tommy. She couldn’t help smiling at the fact that he fell back asleep almost right away. She started to play with his hair as she watched him sleep. Today was going to be a good day.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I’m on a roll. It’s only been 5 days and I have another chapter ready. I even have chapter 11 already started. I think bombarding my brain with the 80's is working as far as inspiration goes. I wrote the second half of this while watching 'The Dirt' and 'Ready Player One'.
> 
> By the way, when the word biscuit is used, I am referring to buttermilk biscuits.

Roz quickly grew antsy just sitting there. After a while, she gathered up a small section of Tommy’s hair. For the next thirty minutes, Roz braided small sections of Tommy’s hair. She had almost half of his hair in small braids before she decided to stop. Roz carefully lifted Tommy’s arm off of her legs. Then she picked his head up off her lap, grabbed her pillow and put it under his head. Tommy started to cuddle the pillow as if he were still in Roz’s lap.

Still in yesterday’s clothes, Roz went into the bathroom to check her hair. Her braids were still holding pretty well so she decided to just leave them in for now. When Roz got to the kitchen, it was still clean, thankfully. Since she still had a good long morning ahead of herself, she decided that she was going to make breakfast for everyone.

Roz dug into the freezer and found exactly what she was looking for: two pounds of ground pork sausage. Next, she made sure that she had everything else that she needed would need: flour, black pepper, salt, heavy whipping cream, buttermilk, butter, baking powder, and baking soda. Roz decided to start her biscuit dough while the pork thawed out.

First Roz turned the oven on so that it could preheat. Then, she cut the butter into small cubes and then put it back into the fridge while she measured out the dry ingredients. She sieved the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Roz then grabbed the butter back out of the fridge and started to rub the butter into the flour mixture. She worked quickly to get a crumbly mixture, so that the butter didn’t melt. She got the buttermilk out and poured it into the bowl. Then Roz mixed it until the dough had only just came together.

She then spread a layer of flour on the counter so that the dough didn’t stick. She took kneaded the dough by folding it over six times. Roz then pressed it until it was round and 1 inch thick. She then got to work cutting the biscuits out and placing them on a baking sheet. Roz worked the scrap dough back together and cut more out. She continued until she was out of dough. Roz put the biscuits into the oven and set the timer.

Roz started to hum to herself as she started to make the gravy. She browned the sausage and then saw that there wasn’t enough fat in the bottom of the pan. She put more butter into the pan. Once it was melted, Roz measured out enough flour into the pan to form a roux. When the roux reached the right consistency, she got the heavy whipping cream and started to whisk it in slowly. Next, she put in salt and pepper.

Once she had the flavor balanced right, she checked on the biscuits; they were almost done. She continued to stir the gravy with the whisk until the timer went off. She turned the oven off and turned the temperature for the gravy to low. Roz heard a whistle as she bent over to take the biscuits out. She turned around, still holding the baking sheet, and saw Tommy laughing in the doorway.

She cocked her head to the side and stuck her tongue out at him, “What, pray tell, is soooo funny?”

Tommy laughed even more and said, “It looks like a coke bomb went off in here.”

Roz set the biscuits on a cooling rack and laughed. “Seriously T, what does it look like I’m doing in here?”

Tommy stepped further into the kitchen, “Well, now that I know it’s not coke…”

Roz slapped him on the shoulder and exclaimed, “Thomas!”

He chuckled and raised his hands in surrender as he leaned on the counter next to the stove, “Just kidding Rozzy. The food smells amazing by the way. The smells lured me out of bed.”

At the mention of bed, Roz blushed and looked away, pretending to focus on the food. She could clearly remember the warmth that spread throughout her chest when Tommy had laid his head in her lap. A smile spread across her face when she looked back over her shoulder at him and realized that the braids were still in his hair.

Before Roz could say anything else, Vince walked into the kitchen. He saw Tommy’s hair and laughed, “Dude, what’s the hell is up with your hair?”

Tommy looked confused and asked him, “What do you mean?” He turned towards Roz, “Roz?”

Roz tried to keep a straight face, “I have no clue T. Why don’t you get some plates for the food? And Vince, can you go get Nikki?”

Tommy looked at Vince who was still laughing and asked, “What?”

Vince just laughed and shook his head at Tommy before he left the kitchen. Roz started to clean the flour up and she finishes just as Mick, Vince, and Nikki come into the kitchen. Mick and Vince both thank Roz before they each grab a plate of food and sit at the table.

As Nikki’s getting his food, he gives Roz an exasperated once over and asks, “You do realize you can’t wear that to The Starwood, right?”

“I think she looks good.” Tommy pipes up around a mouthful of biscuit.

Nikki scoffs, “Of course you think she does. They’re your clothes.”

Roz laughs and rolls her eyes, “I know that Nikki, and I don’t plan on wearing this.”

“Yeah suuure,” Nikki said before leaving the kitchen.

Roz plated her food and Tommy’s since he was munching on another biscuit. He smiled with his mouth full and some crumbs came out, “Fanks Wozzy”

Roz scrunched her nose, “No talking with your mouth full Tommy.”

Tommy gulped the rest of his mouthful down before repeating himself, “Thanks Rozzy.” He gave her a peck on the cheek and grabbed his plate.

Roz laughed at his antics and she followed him out of the kitchen and to the table. Her mind wandered as she quietly ate her food. She was wondering when Tommy would notice the small, loose braids scattered throughout his hair.

Mick was the first to actually mention the word braids. “So, drummer, are you planning on braiding all of your hair for the set tonight?”

Tommy got really confused and it showed on his face. “Dude, why would you think I’d braid my hair?”

Roz tried to hide the small smirk that was spreading across her face. Nikki saw her face and burst out laughing.

Tommy gave Nikki a weird look, “Nik, you ok dude?”

Nikki laughed again and turned to Roz. “You did that didn’t you?”

“I have nooo clue what you are talking about,” Roz said, continuing to eat and trying to act innocent.

Tommy pouted and Vince took mercy on him, “Tommy, you have a shit load of braids in your hair.”

Tommy lifted his hands to his head and felt around in his hair. “Roooozzz, c’mon man, not cool. I cuddle you, and you betray me by messing with my hair.”

She pointed at him with her fork and said, “You, Mr. Lee, used my lap as a pillow. I got bored, hence the braids.” She took her last bite of food before continuing, “Besides, they’re really loose and I didn’t have any hair ties to use.”

Tommy smiled at Roz and laughed, “Well at least there’s that.”

Nikki watched the exchange and got increasingly annoyed. He felt the urge to ruin their little moment somehow. “Hey Roz,” he said, pulling her attention from Tommy, “you really need to wear something different. You can’t wear Tommy’s t-shirts and sports shorts to the gig. We coul-"

Roz was annoyed and cut Nikki off, “Seriously Nikki, I have a plan.”

Nikki scoffed, “Oooo, and what’s that?”

Roz got a wicked gleam in her eyes and glared at Nikki. Tommy shifted uncomfortably. Mick was just sitting there eating. Vince looked a little worried when Roz turned to him. She asked, “Can you get the scissors, please, Vinny?”

Vince balked, “What? Why me?”

Mick got up without a word and went to the kitchen. He came back out with the scissors and handed them to her. Before he let go of them, he said, “Glinda, try not to get too much blood everywhere.”

Roz let out a quick burst of laughter. She smirked at them all and got up from the table. As she left the room she called out, “This is going to be fun.”

Nikki got up from the table and left his half empty plate sitting there. He grumbled to himself and headed to his room.

Tommy and Vince shared a nervous look. “Vince, what if she hurts herself? Nikki’s been on her case about wearing my clothes and I think it’s starting to get to her.” Tommy whined.

Vince sputtered, “T-bone she ain’t gonna hurt herself. What if she decides to do something to my new white leather pants?”

“Hey, dipshits, she’s a big girl. Drummer, Glinda isn’t going to hurt herself with the scissors. Also, Barbie, what makes you think she gives two shits about your leathers?” Mick asked shaking his head. “Now children I’m going to the living room to drink. You two can clean up and put away the food.”

Tommy and Vince sighed and, in unison, said “Yeeess Mick.”

Mick didn’t bother with his plate as he grabbed his vodka and went to the living room. As Tommy and Vince started to clean up the food, they heard a door squeak open.

A moment later they heard Roz call out, “Don’t even think about trying to figure out what I’m doing!”

They heard another door slam, and Tommy turned to Vince, “Hey Vinny, what do you think she’s doing?”

Vince replied, “Man, as long as she isn’t going to be forever, who cares?”

Tommy pouted at that but continued to clean.

After Roz had left the table she went into the bedroom and straight for Tommy’s clean shirts. She wanted to find one that just had a logo on the front. If the artwork was covering the whole front, it would look weird with what she planned to do. After some digging, Roz found a Black Sabbath t-shirt that had a hole on one of the sleeves and the bottom hem was falling apart.

Roz then grabbed the scissors and the rest of her clothes, and headed to the bathroom. She peeked her head out of the door. When she only saw Mick, she stepped into the hall and silently shushed him. She darted out of the bedroom, across the hall and into the bathroom. Roz winced and the loud bang the door made when it slammed shut.

She put her clothes on the counter, next to the sink. Roz grabbed the t-shirt and the scissors and got started. First, she cut the neckline so that it would be low-cut. Then she cut the sleeves off. Next, Roz held the shirt up to her body so that she could gauge how much she would need to cut off. Once she figured it out, Roz started to cut again.

When it was completed, she held it up to admire her work. She had cut it in the front in a manner that turned the regular t-shirt into a tie-front crop top. Roz felt triumphant, there was no way Nikki could complain about this top.

She set the shirt aside and began to undress for her shower. She decided to leave her hair in the braids to that she could have her hair wavy for tonight. Roz took a shower and was careful to not get her hair wet while she shaved her legs. When she was done, she got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. Roz was pleased with how the top turned out, and couldn’t wait to see how Tommy and Nikki would react. Since it couldn’t be very late, Roz decided to wait to do her hair.

When she left the bathroom, Vince sighed in relief and ran around Roz and into the bathroom. Tommy and Nikki were faced away from her and didn’t turn around right away. Mick saw her and gave her a small smile.

Nikki turned around first and his eyes went wide. He couldn’t believe it, he was gonna try to steal something girly for her. Nikki cursed at himself under his breath and turned to face Mick again. He realized that if he didn’t want Roz to wear Tommy’s clothes, he should have fucking done something sooner.

Tommy gave Nikki a sidelong glance when he heard him grumbling. He turned around and his jaw dropped. This was so much better than seeing Roz in his normal clothes. Tommy’s eyes slowly took everything in. Roz was wearing her black and red plaid skirt, so her legs were bare. His eyes went to her top, it left her midriff bare and showed of her cleavage. Tommy bit his lower lip as he kept staring at her.

Roz smiled at Tommy and started to blush when she realized he wasn’t going to say anything. She had to break the silence, “Sorry about the shirt Tommy, I promise I grabbed an older shirt.”

A wolfish grin spread across Tommy’s face as he looked her up and down again, “Roz, babe, if you’re gonna look like that, you can have whatever you want.”

Roz laughed and started to say something when Nikki interrupted her, “You still need different clothes eventually.”

Roz rolled her eyes at him and replied, “Never happy, are you Nikki?”

Nikki looked at her again and smirked, “Exactly.”

“Whatever Nikki. Make sure you guys are ready. I’m going to finish cleaning before we have to leave later.” She gave Tommy another smile before she left the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Roz makes breakfast again. It has been a long time since I’ve made biscuits and gravy. In case you couldn’t tell, I was craving it when I wrote the first half of this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a little longer than I had hoped for, but here we are. I’m at almost 600 reads on WattPad, and I’m at 300 reads on AO3. Thank you so much to all of you. ❤

The guys packed the instruments into the van before they started to get most of their stage clothes on. Nikki and Tommy were in the bathroom teasing their hair while they talked about the show. Roz was in the bedroom with Vince and Mick. Mick had already done his hair and was talking to Roz as Vince helped her with her hair.

“So, Glinda, which one are you gonna pick?” asked Mick.

Roz’s face scrunched up in confusion, “Mick, are you gonna just call me Glinda from now on?”

Mick gave Roz a pointed look, “Yes I am. Now answer the question.”

Roz contemplated the question. She didn’t want to answer, so she feigned ignorance, “Pick which one of what?”

Vince rolled his eyes and scoffed in disbelief, “Don’t play dumb Roz. It doesn’t suit you at all.”

Roz blushed and looked down at her hands. She started running her fingertips along the newly formed scar on her left ring finger. She had thought then that she would have chosen Nikki, hands down. Then she had been stuck between here in 1981 and 2020. Roz loved that both Tommy and Nikki had helped her through that hell. Then Tommy started to try to cheer her up every day. Tommy, also, was willing to help her with some of the chores, if he was asked to. As for Nikki, he had been making Roz frustrated in multiple ways. Half of the time, she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to kiss Nikki or if she wanted to punch him.

Roz looked back up at Mick and Vince and then looked down again before she finally replied, “Guys I have no idea what to do. There are so many variables to consider.”

“Hmm, do you mean normal relationship variables? Or do you mean future stuff?” Mick asked.

Roz laughed before she responded, “Yes!”

Vince looked at her as if she were crazy, “Roz, that was an ‘either or’ question; not a ‘yes or no’ question”

Roz giggled, “Vince, me saying ‘yes’ means that both types of issues apply. Also, Mick?”

Mick said, “Yeah Glinda?”

Roz rolled her eyes at the nickname, “The knowledge of the future makes me hesitant to start any relationship. What if me being in a relationship, especially with Tommy or Nikki, fucks the future up beyond repair? Or has the future already altered drastically by me just being here? Then, who do I want to be with more? I have no idea who want more. I’ve been trying to ignore those thoughts.” Roz drew in a deep breath and then she went to continue rambling.

Vince laughed and interrupted her, “Too bad we don’t have one of them in here to stop you from rambling.”

Roz glared at Vince. She was just about to start telling him off, but Mick interrupted her, “Rozlyn, Glinda, you should just live your life as is. Don’t you think that if you were going to fuck up badly enough, you would know somehow?”

Roz smiled at Mick and said, “You’re right Mick. If there were any major time paradoxes, I would probably have been wiped from existence.”

Mick shrugged his shoulders, and Vince said, “Geeze, morbid much? Anyways, your hair is almost done. It’s a good thing you had put gel in your hair before braiding it yesterday. All I really did was pin your hair back on the sides. I’ll just spray some hairspray in it and then all three of us are done.”

Roz closed her eyes and mouth while Vince practically attacked her hair with the spray. When she was done, she thanked Vince and Mick before they went to make sure Tommy and Nikki were done. When Roz went to knock on the bathroom door, they heard the end of an argument.

“Dude I get it, but you should drop it for now. I think it’s starting to get to her.” Tommy said.

Nikki conceded, “Fine, I’ll leave it for now. She still shouldn’t be wearing only your clothes.”

Tommy sighed, “Nik that isn’t dropping it.”

Before the argument could begin all over again, Mick opened the door. “You guys better be ready. We need to head to the Starwood to set up,” he gruffed at the two of them.

“Yes dad, we’re ready.” Nikki said sarcastically as he and Tommy left the bathroom. When he saw Roz, Nikki’s eyes scanned her body. All he could think was *Fuck me, she’s hot*.

As all five of them left the apartment Tommy couldn’t stop staring at Roz. With her outfit being complete and the smile on her face, Tommy could only think about how gorgeous she was. Before he knew it, they had gotten to the venue and set up the instruments. As they were all doing their makeup, Tommy thought, *I need to focus. I’m looking at her and thinking about her so much. I don’t even remember getting here. I don’t wanna fuck up.*

After finishing her makeup, Roz asked all four guys, “Where do you guys want me to watch from?”

Mick was the first to respond, “The crowd is looking kinda rowdy tonight. You should be side stage until we figure out how the crowd will be.”

Tommy, Nikki, and Vince all murmured their assent as they made their way to the stage. When Tommy went to sit behind his drums, he knocked over his hi-hat.

As Vince introduced the band Roz heard Tommy exclaimed, “Fuck!” Roz remembered what was about to happen. She was happy to be side stage.

As Tommy put his hi-hat back up, some heckler could be heard in the crowd. Just before Vince started to sing, the heckler called out, “Who’s the chick singer?”

Vince was annoyed, “Fuck you asshole!”

Just as Vince said ‘asshole’, the guy hocked a big loogie and spit it right onto Vince’s new white leather pants. Vince looked down at his pants and back up at the guy before he jumped off the stage. Before Vince could hit him, the heckler punched Vince in the face.

Just after that, Nikki hit the guy in the head with his bass. He jumped off the stage and started to fight alongside Vince. Tommy didn’t want to be left out, so he jumped off the stage tackling a guy.

Roz was still side stage, chewing her lip in anxiety. She was about to warn Mick about a guy climbing onstage, when Mick kicked the guy in the head, sending him flying.

It didn’t take the bouncers long to break up the fight. The following quiet was broken by a random drunk guy, “Fuck yeah! Mötley Crüe!” The guys started to play again, and the rest of the show went smoothly.

Roz greeted and congratulated the guys as they came off stage. Mick thanked her quietly, and Vince just waved as he went in search of a chick for the night. Nikki came up to her and gave Roz a hug. As he embraced her, Nikki whispered into her ear, “Thanks for the warning about the fight babe.”

Roz giggled and gave Nikki a kiss on the cheek, “I knew you guys would be fine so everything’s fine.”

Nikki pulled back and smiled down at her. He winked and jokingly said, “You’re lucky we are babe.” He let her go and went to get something to drink.

Roz rolled her eyes, and then turned to look for Tommy. He had been watching the exchange between Roz and Nikki with a frown on his face. When Nikki left Tommy noticed Roz looking around. He figured that if was to outdo Nikki, the element of surprise would be good.

Once Roz’s back was to him, Tommy ran and almost tackled her. “Rozzy!” he exclaimed as he picked her up and spun around with her in his arms. Tommy gave Roz a kiss on the cheek when he sat her down. Still holding her from behind, he leaned down and spoke into her ear, “I’m happy that you were here to watch us. I’m even happier that you were watching from the side stage where it was safe.”

Tommy leaned a bit further and brushed his lips across her neck in a soft kiss. Roz gasped at the kiss, and she marveled at the warmth that spread throughout her chest. Tommy kissed behind her ear for a bit longer than the first kiss. An intense feeling of butterflies overtook Roz, and she blushed a bit at the second kiss. Tommy turned her around slowly. A grin spread across his face when Tommy noticed Roz blushing.

Roz spoke after a moment, “We should probably find the guys so we can all celebrate together.” Tommy just hummed in response.

Nikki watched their exchange, but he couldn’t hear them. After Roz turned around in tommy’s arms, he noticed that they seemed to be getting closer and closer to kissing. Nikki seethed at this; he had to break up this little moment of theirs. He quickly stomped over to the couple.

Tommy had just been about to kiss Roz for the first time, when he heard Nikki loudly calling their names. Nikki was a couple feet away when he called out to them, “Hey! Roz, Tommy, c’mon we’re all gonna do a shot together. Mick and Vince are waiting.”

Nikki smirked to himself when he noticed that Tommy and Roz had jumped apart a bit. Tommy grabbed Roz’s hand and laced their fingers together. As they followed Nikki to a booth where Mick, Vince, and some groupies were, Nikki got a wicked gleam in his eyes. This shot is going to be Roz’s favorite type of alcohol, but let’s see how she reacts to the strongest rum he can think of.

Nikki stopped at the bar for a moment. He asked what the strongest rum they had was. It was Bacardi 151. That rum was 151 proof, or 75.5% alcohol. He asked for a round of shots of Bacardi 151. When he got to the booth, he saw Roz sitting in Tommy’s lap. Nikki tried to just act normal, that is until the shots got there. Once the shots were handed out, they counted down and the guys all downed their shots at once.

Mick grimaced a tiny bit at the burn but didn’t react in any other way. Both Vince and Tommy started coughing from the burn. Nikki didn’t let it show that he felt the burn deep in his chest.

Roz waited for Tommy to stop coughing before she took her shot. She had a wicked gleam in her eyes and smirked at Nikki. She had figured out what it most like was based on the reactions she saw from each of the guys. She took a deep breath and quickly downed the shot. She felt the intense burn in her throat and down through her chest. Roz could have sworn she even felt as it got into her stomach.

Roz blew out a big gust of air and then looked at the guys. Mick looked uninterested, Vince and Tommy looked impressed, and Nikki looked flabbergasted for a moment before he schooled his features. Roz laughed at Nikki’s face. She could feel the intense heat in her throat, chest, and stomach as she asked, “So, Nik, if I’m not mistaken, that was Bacardi 151 that you just gave us. Did you get the reaction you were hoping for?”

Nikki laughed and responded, “Damn woman. Who’d of thought that you could handle that much.”

Roz shook her head and laughed at Nikki. Roz turned her head to Tommy and said, “Hey T, what do you think? More 151 or are you sticking with good ole Jack?”

Tommy laughed, “If you want more lighter fluid, go for it Rozzy.” He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and he snuggled his face into her neck.

Roz decided on one more shot of 151 before switching to regular spiced rum. As the night progressed the other’s slowly left. Mick was first and shortly after Vince was dragged away by a couple of groupies. Nikki and Tommy talked about the party that they were going to have tomorrow at the apartment after their set.

Roz started to get sleepy, so Tommy suggested that they go and bring her home. Tommy half carried Roz to the van. Nikki had a sour look on his face as he drove the van home. By the time that they got to the apartment, Roz was fast asleep. Nikki held open the doors as Tommy carried Roz upstairs and to bed. Nikki threw out a quick goodnight before he went to his room and shut the door a little harder than necessary.

Tommy ignored Nikki’s attitude. Once he laid her in the bed he had to think. He wanted so badly to change Roz into something more comfortable for sleeping, but he knew she’d be pissed if he did that. He did at least remove her boots.

As he was pulling the second boot off, Roz stirred and made a questioning noise, “Tommy? Where am I?”

Tommy chuckled at the fact that she didn’t even open her eyes. Then he responded, “Rozzy hon we’re home and you’re in our bed. Do you want to change your clothes before you go back to sleep?”

Roz turned on her side and mumbled, “No I’m too tired to move. Get your ass over here and get back to cuddling me.”

Tommy grinned and started to pull off all of his clothes, except his boxers. He climbed into bed behind and turned towards her. Then he pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head. “Sweet dreams Rozzy.”

Roz hummed happily. She felt warm and safe in Tommy’s arms, and fell into a deep, peaceful slumber. Tommy fell asleep shortly after with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To give you an idea of how potent Bacardi 151 was, I’ll compare it to Jack Daniel’s. Up until 1987, JD was 90 proof/45% alcohol. So, there is about 30% more ABV in Bacardi 151 compared to Jack Daniel’s. 
> 
> The first time that I had a shot of 151, I was 17 years old. I was in my barstool and had leaned down to talk to my baby cousin. My aunt turned her bar stool and hit me with the sharp metal corner of the armrest. It cut me just below the end of my left eyebrow. I had blood pouring down my face because it was a head wound. My mom was freaking out and my head was starting to hurt. My mom’s boyfriend at the time decided that I needed “pain killers”. First, he gave me a shot of Goldschläger, followed by a shot of Bacardi 151. After the shot of 151 I felt like my throat and esophagus were on fire. To counter the burning my aunt grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry’s for me.   
> That is how I know exactly what drinking that flaming alcohol feels like. Also, FYI in WI at the time I drank the 151, parents were legally allowed to give their minor children alcohol. I am 30 so this anecdote took place 13 years ago. Whenever I drank with my mom, I wasn’t allowed to have my car keys. We all put our keys in a jar under the bar in our basement. If you didn’t give up your keys, you weren’t allowed to drink.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, my goodness. I am so sorry about how long it took for me to be able to write this. You, my darlings are all amazing. I’m at 1055 reads on WattPad and 395 on AO3.
> 
> In an attempt to combat the difficulties my ADHD presents; I have begun to bring a lot more organization to my writing.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this.

Roz woke slowly, feeling a solid warmth at her back, and the comfortable weight of Tommy’s arm across her waist. Being in his arms made her feel warm and safe. As she reveled in the feeling of security, Roz thought back to what Mick had asked her yesterday.

Mick was right, she shouldn’t let the fear of changing the future completely rule her life. When major life events came up, she would just have to tread carefully. For now, she could just focus on being happy. The question was, who would make her happier?

Her feelings for Nikki were strong, but the way that he acted towards her was all over the place. Any interaction with Nikki was almost like riding a rollercoaster while wearing a blindfold. Tommy, however, was constant in his affections and he felt like home to Roz.

Roz thought back to last night right after their set. She could have sworn that, before Nikki interrupted, Tommy had been about to kiss her, and she wishes that he had. Being in Tommy’s arms while trying to figure out her feelings was starting to be almost too much for Roz.

She thought it would be best to get up and take a shower before the guys started to wake up and hog the bathroom. Roz pried Tommy’s arm off of her, and once she was out of his arms, he pulled her pillow to his chest. As she got ready for her shower, she couldn’t stop smiling at how cute Tommy looked cuddling the pillow.

On her way to the bathroom, Roz saw that it was actually past noon already. She showered quickly and got dressed in the only clothes she had that were only hers, her plaid skirt and black blouse. Roz went to the kitchen and heated up some of the leftover gravy and a couple of the biscuits. As she ate, Mick and Vince came into the kitchen.

Roz pointed towards the fridge with her fork and said, “Leftovers are still in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

Mick shrugged and said, “Sorry Glinda, I already ate something before coming here.”

Vince gasped and jokingly asked, “Why on earth would you want to eat anything else? If there are any leftovers of Roz’s cooking, you eat THAT and only that.”

Mick smirked, “And if I always ate the leftovers too, Tommy the human garbage disposal would die of starvation.”

Tommy, who just came into the kitchen, squawked indignantly, “I am not a garbage disposal!”

Roz was trying not to laugh but failed miserably as she said, “Tommy, honey, you do eat quite a lot. It’s lucky that I only know how to cook for an army, or the rest of us would starve.”

Tommy pouted as he heated up some of the leftovers, leaving just enough for one more person. As he sat down, he said, “Rozzy, I was going to tell you that you look pretty this morning, but since we’re being mean I’m not gonna.”

Roz giggled and said, “Well if you _had_ said that to me, then I would have said thank you.”

“By the way drummer, it’s almost 3 pm so it’s not morning anymore.” Mick said as he left the kitchen.

Just after Mick left, Nikki walked into the kitchen, grabbed a cold biscuit, and left without a word.

“Well Nikki seems lively this afternoon,” Vince said sarcastically.

Roz rolled her eyes and just kept eating. Once the three of them were done eating, Vince and Tommy went to go get ready while Roz cleaned up after everyone. Once she was done, Roz decided to braid her hair into two braids.

By the time Roz was done with her hair, she and the boys were ready to go. Tommy came and popped his head into the room. When he saw how she was wearing her blouse he let out a low whistle. Roz had buttoned only three buttons, which was barely enough to keep her breasts covered.

When she saw Tommy just gawking at her in the doorway, Roz laughed. Her laugh snapped him out of his stupor. Tommy grinned and said, “You look fucking hot Rozzy. We gotta get to the Starwood, you ready to go babe?”

“Yup,” Roz said as she walked past Tommy and to the living room. She looked around and didn’t see the others.

Before she could ask where the others were, Tommy came and took her hand and led her outside. Tommy laced his fingers with hers as he said, “The other guys already headed out. I thought we could just walk there.”

Roz looked up at Tommy as they walked and she questioned, “So why did they leave separately from us?”

“Eh, I just wanted to walk there with you.” Tommy said, shrugging as if it meant nothing. He decided to change the subject, and asked, “So, Rozzy, why aren’t you wearing my clothes today?”

Roz blushed and looked down at the sidewalk as it passed under their feet. After a long moment she responded quietly, “I can’t exactly wear your clothes to the Starwood Tommy.”

Tommy smirked down at her and cheekily suggested, “Weeeeellllll you could just wear nothing at all. I would definitely not complain about that babe.”

Roz’s eyes widened and she blushed as she admonished him, “I am NOT going out naked in public! What kind of girl do you take me for, huh?” She tried to look at him sternly.

Tommy pouted at her and gave her puppy dog eyes, “Rozlyn, baby, I was only teasing a little bit.” He then proceeded to dramatically bat his eyelashes at her. At this, Roz’s face broke out into a big smile that she couldn’t keep hiding.

After a moment, Tommy became serious and asked, “But seriously, is the Nikki thing starting to get to you or something?”

Roz sighed, “Oh, you mean him constantly mocking me for only wearing your clothes day in and day out? Is that the thing you mean?”

“Yes Rozzy, that’s what I meant. I know it’s getting on my nerves.” Tommy said, frowning as they came to a stop near the stage door.

Roz smiled, “Yea T it’s annoying as fuck but we can worry about that tomorrow. Right now, you have a show to play rockstar.”

Tommy turned to Roz and placed his free hand on her cheek. With a mischievous look on his face, he asked, “So, baby, can I get kiss for good luck?”

Instead of responding verbally, Roz stood on her tiptoes and braced her hands on his shoulders. Tommy leaned down to meet her, and she placed a short, sweet kiss to his lips.

When Roz pulled away, Tommy smiled down at her and requested, “Rozzy, please watch from the side stage again. If something like last night happens, I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“That was the plan Tommy,” Roz said as she smiled back at him and they walked inside.

It was time for Mötley Crüe to take the stage. As Tommy got behind his drums, and Roz found a spot to the side of the stage, Nikki watched the two closely. He saw the bright smile on Roz’s face as she watched Tommy, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. He had felt the need to just take her and make her his before Tommy got to her.

As they played, Nikki tried to focus on three things, his bass, the chicks in the crowd, and getting drunk as soon as possible. The set passed by quickly and Nikki, Mick, and Vince immediately went in search of liquor. A few girls flocked to Nikki and Vince as they got to the bar. Because of this, Nikki didn’t notice what was happening with Roz and Tommy.

While the others went straight to the bar, Tommy wanted to go straight to Roz. When he got up from his drum set, he turned and saw her beaming at him. He stood there awestruck for a long moment. He had never seen someone looking so cute and sweet being so sexy as hell at the same time.

Roz was also taking in the way Tommy looked. He looked happy, wild, and free; not to mention hot as hell. She could feel his eyes on her and could feel tension in the air. She saw the moment he decided to move. One moment he was still next to his drums, and the next, she was lifted off the ground.

Tommy spun around with Roz held tightly in his arms. They both laughed as he set her down, but he kept his arms wrapped around her. As soon as her feet were on the ground, Tommy brought his hands up to cup Roz’s cheeks. “Now, where were we?” he asked before he pressed his lips firmly to Roz’s.

Roz sighed happily as she moved to stand on her toes and wrap her arms around Tommy’s neck. His tongue traced her lips as his hands went to her waist to both steady her and pull her closer. Roz gasped at the feeling of his body pressed up against hers. Tommy took advantage of her open mouth and pushed his tongue inside to dance with hers. Roz’s heart beat faster the longer that they kissed.

From across the bar, Mick saw that Nikki was watching Roz and Tommy with a frown on his face. Nikki had an arm around a blonde groupie and in his opposite hand, he had a death grip on his beer bottle. Nikki’s frown grew deeper the longer he watched them.

Mick looked over to Vince who had two blondes all over him, he would be busy for a while if not, the whole night. When Mick looked back towards Nikki and his groupie, she was in his lap and kissing Nikki’s neck. Nikki however looked like he was about to shove her off of him and storm over to Tommy and Roz. Wanting to diffuse the situation before it truly started, Mick suggested going back to Nikki before heading over to Tommy and Roz.

Mick tapped Tommy on the shoulder. Tommy groaned in annoyance, turned towards Mick, and almost growled, “What?”

Mick rolled his eyes and suggested, “Hey drummer, Glinda, we should take the party back home where the booze and drugs are cheaper.”

Roz sighed in disappointment as she pulled away from Tommy, “Well, are the others heading back too?”

Mick nodded, “Nikki went to get Vince and round up some people. I guess we’re bringing the party back to the apartment.”

Tommy took Roz’s hand in his and kissed her knuckles before leading her out of the Starwood. The walk home was relatively quiet and seemed quicker than it had earlier. Once they got to the apartment there were already people littered all over the courtyard, balcony, and the living room. When they were finally inside, Roz gave Tommy a kiss on the cheek before heading to the bathroom.

While Roz was in the bathroom, Nikki called Tommy over. “Hey T-bone, want a bump?” he asked as he offered him a plate with a straw and fine white powder on it.

Tommy sat at the table with Nikki but looked skeptically over his shoulder towards the bathroom. Nikki noticed and rolled his eyes. “C’mon Tommy! Boss lady already knows that you do coke. I knoooow you want a bump. C’mon T.” He taunted while waving the plate under Tommy’s nose.

Tommy laughed and said, “Yeah you’re right dude, she does. Ok Nik, hand it over.” Tommy quickly snorted two lines and handed the plate and straw back to Nikki.

When Roz came out of the bathroom, Vince pulled a random chick into it and sent a wink towards Roz. Roz looked around for a moment before she saw Tommy. She frowned when she saw there was a redheaded chick leaning on Tommy and trying persistently to get his attention. At first Roz frowned, but then smiled when she saw that Tommy kept trying to shove her away.

Roz sauntered up to the table and shoved the redhead away and sat sideways on Tommy’s lap. The chick squawked indignantly as Roz planted a long kiss on Tommy’s lips. He wrapped one arm around her waist and placed his other hand on one of her knees. Tommy chuckled into the kiss and pulled back for a moment. “Rozzy, you jealous babe?” he asked before leaning in and lightly kissing up and down her neck.

Roz moaned softly and dung her fingers into Tommy’s hair and she just enjoyed herself. After a few moments, Tommy’s hand began to wander up her thigh and under her skirt.

“Tommy!” she squeaked and grabbed his wrist before his hand could travel too far. She brushed his hair back to expose his neck so that she could slowly kiss up Tommy’s neck. Roz nipped at his ear before she whispered, “Take me to our bed, and _then_ you can move your hand further up.”

Tommy groaned and agreed, “God yes!” He held her waist tighter and put his other arm under her legs. He stood up holding her a bridal carry.

Roz threw her arms around his neck and held on. She continued kissing his neck and nipping at his earlobe as he made his way to their bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooops Cliffhanger. I promise, as soon as I get the courage to write the actual smut, I will start on chapter 13.


End file.
